Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Sold by Franchise Capital Ltd

Key Points

• Franchise Capital Ltd reduced its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. by 24.9% in Q2, now owning 32,650 shares valued at approximately $24.1 million.
• Meta's CFO and CEO sold significant stock amounts, with total insider sales reaching $163.9 million over the past three months.
• Meta Platforms recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.525 per share, representing an annualized yield of 0.3%.

Franchise Capital Ltd cut its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 24.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 32,650 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 10,853 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for 12.6% of Franchise Capital Ltd's investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Franchise Capital Ltd's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $24,099,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pachira Investments Inc. grew its position in Meta Platforms by 3.0% during the second quarter. Pachira Investments Inc. now owns 488 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $360,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares during the period. Shelton Wealth Management LLC raised its stake 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 valued at $1,302,000 after buying an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Myecfo LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Myecfo LLC now owns 776 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $573,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. Kooman & Associates raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Kooman & Associates now owns 544 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $402,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. Finally, Nabity Jensen Investment Management Inc grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In related news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 18,332 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $764.71, for a total value of $14,018,663.72. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 84,141 shares in the company, valued at $64,343,464.11. The trade was a 17.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 15,847 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $769.38, for a total transaction of $12,192,364.86. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 212,681 shares of company stock worth $163,863,761 in the last three months. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 1.0%

Meta Platforms stock opened at $708.65 on Wednesday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $479.80 and a twelve month high of $796.25. The company's 50-day moving average price is $749.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $680.94. The stock has a market cap of $1.78 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a quick ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The social networking company reported $7.14 EPS 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%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.16 earnings per share. Meta Platforms has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on META. Citizens Jmp raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $775.00 to $870.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $635.00 to $740.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. JMP Securities lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $830.68.

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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