Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Acquired by B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG

Key Points

• B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 86.0%, acquiring an additional 161,659 shares, bringing its total holdings to 349,695 shares valued at approximately $201.5 million.
• Several analysts have revised their target prices for Meta Platforms, with updates from Goldman Sachs, TD Cowen, and UBS Group raising projections significantly, signaling a generally positive outlook with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."
• Insider activity includes significant sales from CFO Susan J. Li and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who sold over 34,000 shares collectively, indicating a reduction in their ownership positions while insiders still hold 13.61% of the company.

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 86.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 349,695 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 161,659 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up 2.1% of B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG's portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $201,549,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in META. Inlight Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. JCIC Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 102.6% during the 1st 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. bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at $47,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on META shares. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $685.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and set a $800.00 target price (up from $725.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, July 28th. DA Davidson increased their target price 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. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $812.00 to $897.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $822.41.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 18,332 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $764.71, for a total transaction of $14,018,663.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 84,141 shares in the company, valued at $64,343,464.11. This represents a 17.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 15,847 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The shares were 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. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 312,767 shares of company stock valued at $234,618,139. Insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of META opened at $754.10 on Wednesday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $732.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $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, Inc. has a 1-year low of $479.80 and a 1-year high of $796.25. 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 (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The social networking company reported $7.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $44.55 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $5.16 EPS. 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. Analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were issued 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 dividend yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is currently 7.60%.

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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