Channing Global Advisors LLC Sells 1,532 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Channing Global Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 10.5%, selling 1,532 shares, leaving the firm with 13,031 shares in total.
• Meta Platforms announced a quarterly dividend of $0.525 per share, with an annualized dividend yield of 0.3% as of September 29th.
• Analysts have increased their price targets for Meta Platforms, with some suggesting a target as high as $900, reflecting a strong buy sentiment among financial experts.

Channing Global Advisors LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 10.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,031 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 1,532 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises 6.2% of Channing Global Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Channing Global Advisors LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $9,618,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.4% in the second quarter. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors now owns 3,506 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $2,587,000 after acquiring an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. Pachira Investments Inc. raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.0% in the second quarter. Pachira Investments Inc. now owns 488 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $360,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Hemington Wealth Management grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 2,223 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $1,641,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares during the period. Shelton Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Shelton Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,764 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $1,302,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Myecfo LLC raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 2.0% during the second quarter. Myecfo LLC now owns 776 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $573,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $732.78 on Wednesday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $479.80 and a 12-month high of $796.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.97, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The firm has a market cap of $1.84 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $744.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $686.70.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.75 by $1.39. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 39.33% and a net margin of 39.99%.The firm had revenue of $47.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $44.55 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $5.16 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. Meta Platforms has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 22nd were given a dividend of $0.525 per share. 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 presently 7.60%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Raymond James Financial boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $897.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $775.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Meta Platforms presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $829.66.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 465 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $716.97, for a total transaction of $333,391.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 7,947 shares in the company, valued at $5,697,760.59. This represents a 5.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $707.85, for a total transaction of $367,374.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 28,794 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,381,832.90. This represents a 1.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 213,146 shares of company stock valued at $164,196,453. Insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Company 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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