Gradient Investments LLC Buys 3,408 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Gradient Investments LLC increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 2.9%, purchasing an additional 3,408 shares during the 2nd quarter, bringing its total stake to 121,699 shares valued at approximately $89.8 million.
• Meta Platforms recently reported strong earnings, with $7.14 EPS exceeding analysts' estimates, and revenue of $47.52 billion, reflecting a 21.6% year-over-year increase.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.525 per share, with an ex-dividend date set for September 22nd, representing an annualized dividend yield of 0.3%.

Gradient Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 121,699 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,408 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises about 1.6% of Gradient Investments LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Gradient Investments LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $89,825,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Lantern Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Lantern Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,976 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $1,743,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. ABLE Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. ABLE Financial Group LLC now owns 2,136 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $1,251,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Cedar Point Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Cedar Point Capital Partners LLC now owns 752 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $433,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Mosaic Family Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Mosaic Family Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,435 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $840,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Orin Green Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Orin Green Financial LLC now owns 795 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $465,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

NASDAQ:META opened at $755.59 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $741.83 and a 200-day moving average price of $661.86. The company has a market cap of $1.90 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.36, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a current ratio of 1.97. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $479.80 and a fifty-two week 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 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 was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $5.16 EPS. Meta Platforms has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 22nd will be 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 is Monday, September 22nd. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is presently 7.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 18,332 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $764.71, for a total transaction of $14,018,663.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 84,141 shares in the company, valued at $64,343,464.11. This represents a 17.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 11,694 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $775.00, for a total value of $9,062,850.00. Following the sale, the chief technology officer owned 1,799 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,394,225. This represents a 86.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 268,505 shares of company stock valued at $203,749,711. 13.61% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Citizens Jmp boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Raymond James Financial boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Barclays boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $640.00 to $810.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $740.00 to $840.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $685.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $822.41.

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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