Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Bought by Augustine Asset Management Inc.

Key Points

• Augustine Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 110.6%, acquiring an additional 790 shares during the second quarter, bringing its total holdings to 1,504 shares worth approximately $1.11 million.
• Insider transactions revealed that COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares for $387,088.24, while Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 465 shares for $352,223.55, reflecting a decline in their respective holdings.
• Meta Platforms recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.525 per share, with a dividend yield of 0.3% and a payout ratio of 7.60%.

Augustine Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 110.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,504 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 790 shares during the quarter. Augustine Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $1,110,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Inlight Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter worth $28,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter worth $33,000. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 237.5% in the 2nd quarter. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC now owns 54 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JCIC Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 102.6% in the 1st quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. now owns 79 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $748.72, for a total transaction of $387,088.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 10,026 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,506,666.72. This trade represents a 4.90% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 465 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $757.47, for a total value of $352,223.55. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 8,412 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,371,837.64. This represents a 5.24% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 213,663 shares of company stock valued at $164,570,329 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

META has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $775.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $780.00 to $860.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Citizens Jmp lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and issued a $800.00 target price (up from $725.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $880.00 target price on Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, September 18th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $830.02.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 2.3%

META opened at $717.34 on Thursday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $479.80 and a fifty-two week high of $796.25. The business has a 50-day moving average of $753.01 and a 200-day moving average of $673.09. 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 company has a market capitalization of $1.80 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.20.

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. Equities research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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

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.

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.