Bard Financial Services Inc. Sells 640 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Bard Financial Services Inc. reduced its stake in Meta Platforms by 7.0%, selling 640 shares and holding 8,560 shares valued at approximately $6.32 million.
• Notable insider sales include Christopher K. Cox selling 60,000 shares for about $46.56 million, and Mark Zuckerberg selling 15,847 shares valued at roughly $11.94 million.
• Research analysts have largely rated Meta Platforms with a "buy" rating, with several firms raising their target prices significantly, now averaging around $822.41.

Bard Financial Services Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 7.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,560 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 640 shares during the period. Bard Financial Services Inc.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $6,318,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Inlight Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $33,000. JCIC Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Meta Platforms by 102.6% during the 1st quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. now owns 79 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 60,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $775.95, for a total value of $46,557,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 237,205 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $184,059,219.75. This trade represents a 20.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 15,847 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $753.43, for a total value of $11,939,605.21. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 268,505 shares of company stock valued at $203,749,711. 13.61% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Loop Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $980.00 price objective (up previously from $888.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $825.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Bank of America lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $775.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Roth Capital lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $620.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $822.41.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

META stock opened at $755.59 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $1.90 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.24. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $479.80 and a 1 year high of $796.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.97 and a quick ratio of 1.97. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $741.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $661.86.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The social networking company reported $7.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.75 by $1.39. The firm had revenue of $47.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $44.55 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 39.33% and a net margin of 39.99%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $5.16 EPS. Meta Platforms has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Investors of record on Monday, September 22nd will be issued a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 22nd. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.60%.

Meta Platforms Profile

Meta Platforms, Inc engages in the development of products that enable people to connect and share with friends and family through mobile devices, personal computers, virtual reality headsets, and wearables worldwide. It operates in two segments, Family of Apps and Reality Labs. The Family of Apps segment offers Facebook, which enables people to share, discuss, discover, and connect with interests; Instagram, a community for sharing photos, videos, and private messages, as well as feed, stories, reels, video, live, and shops; Messenger, a messaging application for people to connect with friends, family, communities, and businesses across platforms and devices through text, audio, and video calls; and WhatsApp, a messaging application that is used by people and businesses to communicate and transact privately.

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