Eastern Bank Decreases Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Eastern Bank reduced its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. by 7.6% during the 2nd quarter, holding 149,457 shares valued at approximately $110.3 million.
• Several other investment firms, including Pachira Investments and Shelton Wealth Management, have increased their holdings in Meta as institutional ownership now comprises nearly 80% of the stock.
• Analysts remain optimistic about Meta with upgrades to price targets, with JMP Securities raising their target to $900, and multiple firms maintaining or upgrading their ratings to "buy" or "outperform".

Eastern Bank cut its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 7.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 149,457 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 12,249 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up 2.1% of Eastern Bank's investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Eastern Bank's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $110,313,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Pachira Investments Inc. increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Pachira Investments Inc. now owns 488 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $360,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Shelton Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Myecfo LLC increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Myecfo LLC now owns 776 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $573,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Kooman & Associates increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Kooman & Associates now owns 544 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $402,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nabity Jensen Investment Management Inc increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Nabity Jensen Investment Management Inc now owns 1,378 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $1,017,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on META shares. JMP Securities lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Citizens Jmp lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $830.68.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $713.34, for a total value of $368,796.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 8,992 shares in the company, valued at $6,414,353.28. The trade was a 5.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 465 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $716.97, for a total value of $333,391.05. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 7,947 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,697,760.59. The trade was a 5.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 213,665 shares of company stock worth $164,568,109 in the last quarter. 13.61% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META opened at $716.91 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $1.80 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.96, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $746.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $684.78. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $479.80 and a 12-month high of $796.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The social networking company reported $7.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.75 by $1.39. The firm 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 company's revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $5.16 EPS. Meta Platforms has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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

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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