Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Sold by Gould Capital LLC

Key Points

• Gould Capital LLC reduced its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. by 21.8% in Q1, selling 606 shares, and now holds 2,176 shares valued at approximately $1.25 million.
• Meta reported a robust quarterly performance with an EPS of $7.14, surpassing estimates, and revenue of $47.52 billion, marking a year-over-year increase of 21.6%.
• Multiple analysts have upgraded their ratings on Meta, with Bank of America raising the price target to $900.00, reflecting growing confidence in the company's future performance.

Gould Capital LLC lessened its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 21.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,176 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 606 shares during the period. Gould Capital LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $1,254,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in META. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Meta Platforms by 67,172.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 23,452,665 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $13,517,178,000 after acquiring an additional 23,417,803 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 13.5% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 23,445,565 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $13,727,613,000 after purchasing an additional 2,787,832 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.3% during the 1st 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 during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of 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 valued at $8,977,361,000 after purchasing an additional 1,255,546 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 12,007,308 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $7,030,399,000 after acquiring an additional 280,357 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on META. Citigroup reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $710.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Roth Capital boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $620.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $685.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $812.00 to $897.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Three 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, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $822.41.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Meta Platforms stock traded up $15.69 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $754.79. 10,590,214 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,655,942. The stock has a market cap of $1.90 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a current ratio of 1.97. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $479.80 and a 52-week high of $796.25. The firm's 50 day moving average is $730.31 and its 200 day moving average is $656.98.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $5.16 EPS. Meta Platforms has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. Analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were given a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 18,332 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief financial officer owned 84,141 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $64,343,464.11. This trade represents a 17.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $775.00, for a total transaction of $400,675.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 13,128 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,174,200. The trade was a 3.79% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 313,803 shares of company stock valued at $235,276,424 over the last three months. Company insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

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.