Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Purchased by Kestra Advisory Services LLC

Key Points

• Kestra Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. by 4.9%, acquiring a total of 150,137 shares valued at approximately $86.5 million.
• Meta Platforms reported strong quarterly earnings with $7.14 EPS, surpassing expectations and demonstrating a 21.6% year-over-year revenue growth to $47.52 billion.
• Analysts project a positive outlook for Meta's stock, with several firms raising their price targets, leading to a current consensus target of $822.41 and a majority rating of "Moderate Buy."

Kestra Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 4.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 150,137 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 7,016 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 0.4% of Kestra Advisory Services LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Kestra Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $86,533,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. RPG Investment Advisory LLC increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 92.8% during the 1st quarter. RPG Investment Advisory LLC now owns 700 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $404,000 after buying an additional 337 shares in the last quarter. Purus Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Purus Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,252 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $1,874,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Mccarter Private Wealth Services LLC grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 7.3% during the 1st quarter. Mccarter Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 4,110 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $2,369,000 after acquiring an additional 278 shares in the last quarter. Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 3,108 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $1,791,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 36.5% in the first quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,191,741 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $686,872,000 after purchasing an additional 318,761 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 2.1%

NASDAQ:META traded up $15.69 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $754.79. 10,590,214 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,655,942. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $479.80 and a twelve month high of $796.25. The business has a 50-day moving average of $730.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $656.98. The company has a market capitalization of $1.90 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.33, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The social networking company reported $7.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $47.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $44.55 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $5.16 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. Meta Platforms has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

META has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wedbush boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $920.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $920.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. JMP Securities lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $783.00 to $811.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $685.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" 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 issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $822.41.

Insider Activity

In other Meta Platforms news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 18,332 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 84,141 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 is available at this link. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 15,847 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 quarter, insiders sold 313,803 shares of company stock valued at $235,276,424. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.