Essex Financial Services Inc. Buys 1,212 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Essex Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 7.9%, purchasing an additional 1,212 shares, bringing their total to 16,504 shares, valued at approximately $12.18 million.
• Institutional investors collectively own nearly 80% of Meta Platforms' stock, indicating strong institutional interest and confidence in the company.
• Meta Platforms recently reported earnings of $7.14 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations and reflecting a 21.6% year-over-year revenue growth.

Essex Financial Services Inc. raised its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 7.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 16,504 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,212 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for 0.8% of Essex Financial Services Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Essex Financial Services Inc.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $12,182,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. Csenge Advisory Group boosted its holdings 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 worth $5,498,000 after purchasing an additional 1,019 shares in the last quarter. ARQ Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 4.5% in the first quarter. ARQ Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 785 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $452,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. JMG Financial Group Ltd. purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the first quarter worth approximately $284,000. Infusive Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in 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 worth $13,614,000 after buying an additional 2,285 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aspire Growth Partners LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 7.3% in the first quarter. Aspire Growth Partners LLC now owns 662 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $395,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $781.33, for a total transaction of $403,947.61. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 10,543 shares in the company, valued at $8,237,562.19. This trade represents a 4.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $769.20, for a total transaction of $399,214.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 30,351 shares of the company's stock, valued at $23,345,989.20. The trade was a 1.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 215,507 shares of company stock worth $165,874,850. Corporate insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $743.40 on Tuesday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $479.80 and a twelve month high of $796.25. The firm has a market cap of $1.87 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.92, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a 50 day moving average of $752.34 and a 200 day moving average of $672.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

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

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

META has been the subject of several analyst reports. Raymond James Financial increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $850.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $780.00 to $860.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $825.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $710.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently 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.

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