Ieq Capital LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Ieq Capital LLC increased its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. by 18.9% during the first quarter, bringing its total share count to 1,036,929, valued at approximately $597.6 million.
• Multiple analysts have adjusted their price targets for Meta, with Goldman Sachs raising its target to $690 and Barclays increasing it to $810, indicating robust buy sentiment.
• Meta Platforms recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.525 per share, reflecting an annual yield of 0.3%, with an insider selling activity signaling possible profit-taking.

Ieq Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 18.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,036,929 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 164,646 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for 4.8% of Ieq Capital LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Ieq Capital LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $597,644,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of META. Inlight Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the first quarter valued at $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the first quarter valued at $28,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the first quarter valued at $33,000. JCIC Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Meta Platforms by 102.6% during the first quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. now owns 79 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at $47,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on META shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $685.00 to $690.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $700.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $640.00 to $810.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Moffett Nathanson upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $605.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $740.00 to $840.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $822.41.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

NASDAQ:META opened at $754.10 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.97, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $479.80 and a 12-month high of $796.25. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $732.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $657.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.89 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.27.

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 (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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $44.55 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $5.16 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. Meta Platforms has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is presently 7.60%.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 237,205 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $184,059,219.75. This represents a 20.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 15,847 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $753.43, for a total value of $11,939,605.21. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 312,767 shares of company stock valued at $234,618,139. 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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