Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Sold by Sterling Investment Counsel LLC

Key Points

• Sterling Investment Counsel LLC reduced its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. by 40.9%, selling 2,392 shares, and now owns 3,458 shares valued at approximately $2.55 million.
• Equities research analysts have raised their price targets for Meta, with BMO Capital Markets increasing it to $710 and Cantor Fitzgerald setting a target of $920, indicating growing positive sentiment towards the stock.
• Insider trading activity includes the sale of 465 shares by Director Robert M. Kimmitt, with total insider sales in the last ninety days reaching 214,182 shares worth $164.95 million.

Sterling Investment Counsel LLC lowered its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 40.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,458 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 2,392 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for about 1.5% of Sterling Investment Counsel LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $2,552,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Inlight Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 237.5% in the 2nd quarter. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC now owns 54 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Finally, JCIC Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 102.6% in the 1st quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. now owns 79 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $710.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $920.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted 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. Needham & Company LLC raised shares of Meta Platforms from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, Benchmark lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $890.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Four equities 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 company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $830.68.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 465 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $757.47, for a total value of $352,223.55. Following the sale, the director directly owned 8,412 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,371,837.64. The trade was a 5.24% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $716.98, for a total transaction of $372,112.62. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 29,313 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,016,834.74. This trade represents a 1.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 214,182 shares of company stock worth $164,946,219. Company insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 2.2%

NASDAQ META opened at $733.51 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $479.80 and a 52 week high of $796.25. 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 business's fifty day simple moving average is $753.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $678.22. The firm has a market cap of $1.84 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.20.

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

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 22nd. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is currently 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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