Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Sold by Wright Investors Service Inc.

Key Points

• Wright Investors Service Inc. reduced its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. by 3.4%, now holding about 19,899 shares valued at approximately $14.7 million.
• Meta reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $7.14 for the last quarter, exceeding estimates by $1.39, with a revenue of $47.52 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.525, representing a 0.3% yield with an ex-dividend date set for September 22nd.

Wright Investors Service Inc. cut its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 19,899 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 699 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up about 4.4% of Wright Investors Service Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Wright Investors Service Inc.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $14,687,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 608,429.2% during the 2nd quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC now owns 59,775,823 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $44,119,937,000 after buying an additional 59,766,000 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms by 67,172.9% during the 1st 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 last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter worth $2,990,544,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in Meta Platforms by 712.2% during the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,537,631 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $1,462,589,000 after acquiring an additional 2,225,186 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth $1,162,918,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 1.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $765.16 on Tuesday. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $747.94 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $667.24. The firm has a market cap of $1.92 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.70, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.24. 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.

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

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on META. Needham & Company LLC upgraded Meta Platforms from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Wedbush upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $920.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $808.00 to $880.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $740.00 to $840.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $850.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $826.05.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other news, 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 completion of the sale, the director directly owned 8,412 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,371,837.64. This represents a 5.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $767.16, for a total value of $398,156.04. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 30,870 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $23,682,229.20. This trade represents a 1.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 256,886 shares of company stock valued at $195,693,600 over the last ninety days. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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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