Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Sold by Birinyi Associates Inc.

Key Points

• Birinyi Associates Inc. reduced its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. by 24.4%, now owning 1,240 shares worth $915,000 after selling 400 shares in the second quarter.
• Insider sales included Christopher K. Cox selling 60,000 shares for over $46 million and CTO Andrew Bosworth selling 11,694 shares, marking significant decreases in their respective ownership percentages.
• Meta Platforms announced a quarterly dividend of $0.525, reflecting an annualized yield of 0.3%, alongside revenue growth of 21.6% year-over-year in its latest earnings report.

Birinyi Associates Inc. trimmed its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 24.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,240 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 400 shares during the period. Birinyi Associates Inc.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $915,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of META. Pachira Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.0% during the second quarter. Pachira Investments Inc. now owns 488 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $360,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Shelton Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Meta Platforms by 0.9% during the second quarter. Shelton Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,764 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $1,302,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the period. Myecfo LLC increased its position in Meta Platforms by 2.0% during the second quarter. Myecfo LLC now owns 776 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $573,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the period. Kooman & Associates increased its position in Meta Platforms by 2.8% during the second quarter. Kooman & Associates now owns 544 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $402,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the period. Finally, Nabity Jensen Investment Management Inc grew its position in Meta Platforms by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Nabity Jensen Investment Management Inc now owns 1,378 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $1,017,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 60,000 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 237,205 shares in the company, valued at approximately $184,059,219.75. The trade was a 20.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 11,694 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $775.00, for a total transaction of $9,062,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 1,799 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,394,225. This trade represents a 86.67% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 213,717 shares of company stock valued at $164,599,932 in the last ninety days. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on META shares. Robert W. Baird raised their price target 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. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $850.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. KeyCorp upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $905.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Benchmark upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $890.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Zacks Research cut Meta Platforms from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. Four 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. According to MarketBeat, Meta Platforms presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $830.68.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Meta Platforms stock opened at $712.07 on Friday. 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $747.80 and a 200 day simple moving average of $682.13. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $479.80 and a one year high of $796.25. The company 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.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $5.75 by $1.39. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 39.33% and a net margin of 39.99%.The firm had revenue of $47.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $44.55 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $5.16 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Meta Platforms has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, sell-side 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 22nd were given a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 22nd. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms's payout ratio 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.

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