Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC Sells 955 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC reduced its stake in Meta Platforms by 9.9%, selling 955 shares and now holding a total of 8,709 shares, which represent approximately 1.5% of its investment portfolio.
• Meta Platforms announced a quarterly dividend of $0.525 per share, translating to an annualized yield of 0.3%, with a payout ratio of 7.60%.
• Despite recent transactions by insiders selling shares, institutional investors hold 79.91% of the company's stock, reflecting strong confidence in Meta's growth prospects.

Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC lessened its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 9.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,709 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 955 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up approximately 1.5% of Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $6,223,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in META. Inlight Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 237.5% in the second quarter. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC now owns 54 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JCIC Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 102.6% in the first 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. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $712.07 on Friday. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $747.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $682.13. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $479.80 and a 1-year high of $796.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.79 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.97, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The social networking company reported $7.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.75 by $1.39. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 39.99% and a return on equity of 39.33%. The firm had revenue of $47.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $44.55 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $5.16 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Meta Platforms has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on META. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Meta Platforms from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. Loop Capital restated a "buy" rating and set a $980.00 price objective (up from $888.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $897.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $775.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC raised shares of Meta Platforms from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $830.68.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $707.85, for a total value of $367,374.15. Following the sale, the insider owned 28,794 shares in the company, valued at $20,381,832.90. This represents a 1.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $713.34, for a total transaction of $368,796.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 8,992 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,414,353.28. This trade represents a 5.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 213,717 shares of company stock worth $164,599,932 in the last 90 days. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Meta Platforms

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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