Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Position Increased by Richard P Slaughter Associates Inc

Key Points

• Richard P Slaughter Associates Inc increased its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. by 9.4%, now holding 5,733 shares valued at approximately $4.23 million.
• Insider sales included Christopher K. Cox selling 60,000 shares for about $46.56 million, marking a 20.19% decrease in his ownership.
• Meta Platforms recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.525 per share, with a payment date set for September 29th.

Richard P Slaughter Associates Inc raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 9.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,733 shares of the social networking company's stock after buying an additional 494 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for 0.9% of Richard P Slaughter Associates Inc's portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Richard P Slaughter Associates Inc's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $4,231,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Csenge Advisory Group increased 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 valued at $5,498,000 after purchasing an additional 1,019 shares during the period. ARQ Wealth Advisors LLC increased 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 valued at $452,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. JMG Financial Group Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter valued at about $284,000. Infusive Asset Management Inc. increased 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 valued at $13,614,000 after purchasing an additional 2,285 shares during the period. Finally, Aspire Growth Partners LLC increased 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 valued at $395,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms 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 transaction, the insider owned 237,205 shares in the company, valued at $184,059,219.75. This trade represents a 20.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 18,332 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 84,141 shares of the company's stock, valued at $64,343,464.11. This represents 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 259,674 shares of company stock worth $197,549,274 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of META stock opened at $764.70 on Tuesday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $479.80 and a 12 month 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. The business's 50 day moving average is $742.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $662.53. The company has a market cap of $1.92 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.24.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The social networking company reported $7.14 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $47.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $44.55 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $5.16 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Meta Platforms has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. Equities analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Pivotal Research upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $830.00 to $930.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Needham & Company LLC upgraded Meta Platforms from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $808.00 to $880.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased 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. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $920.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Three investment 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price 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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