NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC Acquires 816 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• NorthCrest Asset Management LLC has increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.5%, owning 55,123 shares valued at approximately $39.6 million.
• Several hedge funds ramped up their investments in Meta, with GAMMA Investing LLC increasing its holdings dramatically by over 67,172% in the first quarter.
• Meta recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.525 per share, indicating a 0.3% yield and a payout ratio of 7.60%.

NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 55,123 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 816 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for 1.1% of NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC's holdings, making the stock its 15th largest position. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $39,634,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in META. Inlight Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter worth $28,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the first quarter valued at about $33,000. JCIC Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 102.6% in the first quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. now owns 79 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principia Wealth Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 53.6% in the first quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 86 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 60,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $775.95, for a total value of $46,557,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 237,205 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $184,059,219.75. This trade represents a 20.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 18,332 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $764.71, for a total transaction of $14,018,663.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 84,141 shares in the company, valued at approximately $64,343,464.11. The trade was a 17.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 256,886 shares of company stock valued at $195,693,600. 13.61% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on META. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $783.00 to $811.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Pivotal Research raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $830.00 to $930.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $780.00 to $860.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Three research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $826.05.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of Meta Platforms stock traded down $4.17 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $760.99. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,116,393 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,640,120. 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 52 week low of $479.80 and a 52 week high of $796.25. The stock has a market cap of $1.91 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.24. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $747.94 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $667.24.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $5.75 by $1.39. The company had revenue of $47.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $44.55 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 39.99% and a return on equity of 39.33%. Meta Platforms's revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $5.16 earnings per share. Meta Platforms has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Investors of record on Monday, September 22nd will be given a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 22nd. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.60%.

About Meta Platforms

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.