Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Purchased by Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd

Key Points

• Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. by 3.9% during the second quarter, now owning 331,918 shares valued at approximately $244.99 million.
• Meta Platforms recently reported quarterly earnings of $7.14 EPS, exceeding analyst expectations, and had revenue of $47.52 billion, marking a 21.6% increase year-over-year.
• The firm announced a quarterly dividend of $0.525 payable on September 29th, contributing to an annualized yield of 0.3%.

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 3.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 331,918 shares of the social networking company's stock after acquiring an additional 12,468 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises about 2.2% of Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd's investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $244,985,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 34,551 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $20,230,000 after acquiring an additional 570 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,456 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $5,537,000 after acquiring an additional 875 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 221,459 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $129,666,000 after acquiring an additional 7,587 shares during the period. AAF Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 17.4% during the fourth quarter. AAF Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,747 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $1,609,000 after buying an additional 407 shares during the period. Finally, Retirement Planning Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 11.1% during the fourth quarter. Retirement Planning Group LLC now owns 1,478 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $866,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

META has been the subject of several recent research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $775.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $780.00 to $860.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Wedbush upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $920.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. HSBC raised Meta Platforms from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $610.00 to $900.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Three 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 company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $826.05.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

NASDAQ:META opened at $778.38 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $747.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $665.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.96 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.24. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $479.80 and a 12-month high of $796.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $47.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $44.55 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 39.33% and a net margin of 39.99%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.16 earnings per share. Meta Platforms has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 22nd will be paid a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 22nd. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is currently 7.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $757.47, for a total value of $391,611.99. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 11,060 shares in the company, valued at $8,377,618.20. This represents a 4.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 465 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $757.47, for a total value of $352,223.55. Following the transaction, the director owned 8,412 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,371,837.64. This trade represents a 5.24% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 257,922 shares of company stock worth $196,412,792 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

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.

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