Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Purchased by First Merchants Corp

Key Points

• First Merchants Corp increased its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. by 7.8%, acquiring an additional 1,337 shares and now owns shares valued at $13.7 million.
• Meta reported a 21.6% increase in quarterly revenue year-over-year, reaching $47.52 billion, and EPS of $7.14, surpassing analysts' expectations.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.525 per share, leading to an annualized dividend yield of 0.3% and a payout ratio of 7.6%.

First Merchants Corp lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 7.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 18,574 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,337 shares during the period. First Merchants Corp's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $13,709,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 608,429.2% in the second quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC now owns 59,775,823 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $44,119,937,000 after purchasing an additional 59,766,000 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.3% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 17,669,795 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $10,184,163,000 after purchasing an additional 400,927 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 8.8% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 15,575,962 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $8,977,361,000 after acquiring an additional 1,255,546 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 12,543,468 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $7,229,553,000 after purchasing an additional 536,160 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 10,041,171 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $5,787,329,000 after purchasing an additional 247,850 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $712.07 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.79 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.20. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $747.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $682.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.97 and a quick ratio of 1.97. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $479.80 and a 1-year high of $796.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued 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 net margin of 39.99% and a return on equity of 39.33%. The firm had revenue of $47.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $44.55 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $5.16 EPS. Meta Platforms's quarterly revenue was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Meta Platforms has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Raymond James Financial increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $740.00 to $840.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $825.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Truist Financial set a $880.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. Finally, Citigroup reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $830.68.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

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

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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