Channel Wealth LLC Increases Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Channel Wealth LLC increased its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. by 11.4%, holding a total of 5,297 shares valued at approximately $3.91 million.
• In the second quarter, several institutional investors, including DLK Investment Management, increased their holdings in Meta Platforms, contributing to a total of 79.91% institutional ownership of the stock.
• Meta Platforms declared a quarterly dividend of $0.525 per share, with an annualized yield of 0.3%, to be paid on September 29th.

Channel Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 11.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,297 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 544 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up about 1.1% of Channel Wealth LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Channel Wealth LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $3,910,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Csenge Advisory Group grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 12.0% in the 1st quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 9,539 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $5,498,000 after buying an additional 1,019 shares in the last quarter. ARQ Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.5% in the first quarter. ARQ Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 785 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $452,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. JMG Financial Group Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the first quarter valued at approximately $284,000. Infusive Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 10.7% in the first quarter. Infusive Asset Management Inc. now owns 23,620 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $13,614,000 after acquiring an additional 2,285 shares during the period. Finally, Aspire Growth Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 7.3% in the first quarter. Aspire Growth Partners LLC now owns 662 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $395,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of Meta Platforms stock traded down $1.87 on Friday, hitting $778.38. The company had a trading volume of 22,494,703 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,174,566. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a current ratio of 1.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.96 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.24. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $747.06 and a 200-day moving average of $665.93. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $479.80 and a 1 year high of $796.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its 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 business had revenue of $47.52 billion during 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 business'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 earnings per share. Meta Platforms has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, sell-side 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 22nd will be paid a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 22nd. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is 7.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 465 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $757.47, for a total transaction of $352,223.55. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 8,412 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,371,837.64. This represents a 5.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $757.47, for a total value of $391,611.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 11,060 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,377,618.20. This trade represents a 4.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 257,922 shares of company stock valued at $196,412,792 over the last ninety days. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on META shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $920.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Wednesday. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and set a $800.00 target price (up previously from $725.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, July 28th. Wedbush lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $920.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $635.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $775.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $826.05.

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.