Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Bought by Optas LLC

Key Points

• Optas LLC increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 132.0%, owning 22,106 shares valued at approximately $16.3 million.
• Analysts have issued a consensus rating of Moderate Buy for Meta, with a target price averaging around $830.68.
• Meta Platforms recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.525 per share, reflecting a 0.3% yield and a low payout ratio of 7.60%.

Optas LLC grew its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 132.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 22,106 shares of the social networking company's stock after buying an additional 12,578 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 3.1% of Optas LLC's holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Optas LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $16,316,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Aurora Investment Managers LLC. acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter valued at $12,467,000. Sitrin Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 5.5% in the 2nd quarter. Sitrin Capital Management LLC now owns 11,453 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $8,453,000 after buying an additional 602 shares in the last quarter. First Merchants Corp raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 7.8% in the 2nd quarter. First Merchants Corp now owns 18,574 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $13,709,000 after buying an additional 1,337 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management now owns 2,332 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,721,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clear Creek Financial Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 38.5% in the 2nd quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 6,394 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $4,719,000 after buying an additional 1,778 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on META. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $635.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $920.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $640.00 to $810.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $685.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $845.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $830.68.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $707.85, for a total transaction of $367,374.15. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 28,794 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,381,832.90. The trade was a 1.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, October 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $713.34, for a total transaction of $368,796.78. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 8,992 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,414,353.28. The trade was a 5.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 213,717 shares of company stock worth $164,599,932 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $712.07 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.79 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.20. 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 1 year low of $479.80 and a 1 year high of $796.25. The firm's 50-day moving average is $747.80 and its 200-day moving average is $682.13.

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

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

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.

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