Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Position Raised by Shell Asset Management Co.

Key Points

• Shell Asset Management Co. increased its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. by 25.3%, making the stock its 5th largest holding, now valued at approximately $83.1 million.
• Meta Platforms recently reported a Q2 EPS of $7.14, surpassing analysts' estimates and contributing to a 21.6% year-over-year revenue growth of $47.52 billion.
• The firm declared a quarterly dividend of $0.525 per share, representing an annualized yield of 0.3% and a payout ratio of 7.60%.

Shell Asset Management Co. raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 25.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 112,593 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 22,729 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up approximately 2.9% of Shell Asset Management Co.'s portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Shell Asset Management Co.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $83,104,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Inlight Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the first quarter worth about $28,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the first quarter worth about $33,000. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 237.5% in the second quarter. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC now owns 54 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JCIC Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 102.6% in the first quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. now owns 79 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $717.55 on Thursday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $479.80 and a one year high of $796.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.97 and a quick ratio of 1.97. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $748.80 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $681.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.80 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.98, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.20.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The social networking company reported $7.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.75 by $1.39. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 39.99% and a return on equity of 39.33%. The business had revenue of $47.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $44.55 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $5.16 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. Meta Platforms has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

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 shares were 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 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 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 transaction of $14,018,663.72. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 84,141 shares in the company, valued at $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 213,198 shares of company stock valued at $164,232,558 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $808.00 to $880.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $897.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $825.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Raymond James Financial increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, JMP Securities increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $830.68.

Meta Platforms 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.