Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Bought by Argent Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• Argent Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 61.5% in the second quarter, now holding 108,721 shares valued at approximately $80.25 million, making it the 16th largest position in their portfolio.
• Insider transactions revealed that COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares for over $403,000, while insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares for nearly $399,000, contributing to a total of 230,336 shares sold worth around $176.6 million by insiders over the past 90 days.
• Meta Platforms reported $7.14 earnings per share for the most recent quarter, significantly surpassing analysts' expectations, and generated $47.52 billion in revenue, demonstrating a 21.6% year-over-year increase.

Argent Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 61.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 108,721 shares of the social networking company's stock after buying an additional 41,418 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up approximately 2.3% of Argent Capital Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Argent Capital Management LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $80,246,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Inlight Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the first quarter worth about $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the first quarter worth about $28,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the first quarter worth about $33,000. JCIC Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 102.6% during 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. Finally, Piscataqua Savings Bank boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 433.3% in the second quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank now owns 80 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $781.33, for a total transaction of $403,947.61. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 10,543 shares in the company, valued at $8,237,562.19. This represents a 4.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $769.20, for a total value of $399,214.80. Following the sale, the insider owned 30,351 shares of the company's stock, valued at $23,345,989.20. This trade represents a 1.68% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 230,336 shares of company stock worth $176,625,049 over the last 90 days. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $748.91 on Friday. 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, Inc. has a twelve month low of $479.80 and a twelve month high of $796.25. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $750.95 and a two-hundred day moving average of $669.54. The stock has a market cap of $1.88 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.24.

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 company had revenue of $47.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $44.55 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.16 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. Meta Platforms has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 22nd will be paid 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 is Monday, September 22nd. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is 7.60%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

META has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $795.00 to $875.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. TD Cowen upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Truist Financial set a $880.00 price target on Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, September 18th. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $825.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $826.05.

Meta Platforms Company 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.

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