Howe & Rusling Inc. Sells 1,057 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Howe & Rusling Inc. reduced its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. by 2.6%, now holding 39,687 shares valued at approximately $22.87 million.
• Insider trading activities included Christopher K. Cox selling 60,000 shares for about $46.56 million, resulting in a 20.19% decrease in his position.
• Meta Platforms recently reported $7.14 EPS in quarterly earnings, exceeding estimates and marking a 21.6% revenue increase from the previous year.

Howe & Rusling Inc. cut its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 2.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 39,687 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 1,057 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises approximately 1.9% of Howe & Rusling Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Howe & Rusling Inc.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $22,874,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Guinness Asset Management LTD increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 5.3% during the first quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD now owns 75,532 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $43,533,000 after acquiring an additional 3,787 shares in the last quarter. Lynx Investment Advisory increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.1% during the first quarter. Lynx Investment Advisory now owns 1,832 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,056,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Peterson Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 40.6% during the first quarter. Peterson Wealth Management now owns 485 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $280,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Kondo Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.2% during the first quarter. Kondo Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 738 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $425,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Birchbrook Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 5.5% during the first quarter. Birchbrook Inc. now owns 2,409 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,388,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 60,000 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $775.95, for a total transaction of $46,557,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 237,205 shares of the company's stock, valued at $184,059,219.75. The trade was a 20.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 18,332 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $764.71, for a total value of $14,018,663.72. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 84,141 shares in the company, valued at approximately $64,343,464.11. The trade was a 17.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 283,280 shares of company stock valued at $214,119,908 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 0.1%

Meta Platforms stock opened at $750.90 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $741.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $661.24. The company has a market cap of $1.89 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.24. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $479.80 and a 52-week high of $796.25. 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 released 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 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 quarterly revenue was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.16 EPS. Meta Platforms has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. Analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 22nd will be paid 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 payout ratio is currently 7.60%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

META has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $640.00 to $810.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $795.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Benchmark lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $890.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $685.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $845.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have assigned 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 $822.41.

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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