Meta Platforms, Inc. $META is Herbst Group LLC's 6th Largest Position

Key Points

• Herbst Group LLC increased its investment in Meta Platforms, Inc. by 5.1% in Q2, making it the firm's 6th largest position, valued at approximately $6.2 million.
• Meta Platforms reported earnings of $7.14 per share, exceeding estimates, with revenue for the quarter reaching $47.52 billion, marking a year-over-year increase of 21.6%.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.525 per share, with a scheduled payment date of September 29th and a dividend yield of 0.3%.

Herbst Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 5.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,381 shares of the social networking company's stock after buying an additional 407 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises 3.7% of Herbst Group LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Herbst Group LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $6,186,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Csenge Advisory Group grew 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 acquiring an additional 1,019 shares during the period. ARQ Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. ARQ Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 785 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $452,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. JMG Financial Group Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter worth approximately $284,000. Infusive Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 10.7% in the 1st quarter. Infusive Asset Management Inc. now owns 23,620 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $13,614,000 after acquiring an additional 2,285 shares during the period. Finally, Aspire Growth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 7.3% in the 1st quarter. Aspire Growth Partners LLC now owns 662 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $395,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

META stock opened at $743.75 on Monday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $479.80 and a 52-week high of $796.25. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $751.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $671.40. The company has a quick ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.87 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.24.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $47.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $44.55 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.16 earnings per share. The business'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 expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on META. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $775.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Loop Capital reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $980.00 target price (up previously from $888.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. DA Davidson increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $825.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Scotiabank increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $685.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Roth Capital increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $620.00 to $740.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Three 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $826.05.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 18,332 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 18th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $64,343,464.11. This trade represents a 17.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 11,694 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 1,799 shares in the company, valued at $1,394,225. This trade represents a 86.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 229,819 shares of company stock valued at $176,241,968. Corporate insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

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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