Jones Financial Companies Lllp Buys 78,963 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. by 38.6%, owning 283,481 shares valued at approximately $163.5 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Meta Platforms reported earnings of $7.14 per share for the last quarter, surpassing expectations and reflecting a 21.6% year-over-year revenue increase to $47.52 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.525 per share, scheduled for payment on September 29th, representing a 0.3% dividend yield.

Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 38.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 283,481 shares of the social networking company's stock after buying an additional 78,963 shares during the quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $163,479,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter worth about $2,990,544,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in Meta Platforms by 712.2% in 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 buying an additional 2,225,186 shares during the period. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,162,918,000. Finally, Amundi boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 23.5% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 7,733,061 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $4,111,050,000 after buying an additional 1,470,070 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on META. Pivotal Research raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $830.00 to $930.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Loop Capital reissued a "buy" rating and set a $980.00 price objective (up from $888.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $795.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Benchmark raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $890.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Citizens Jmp lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $900.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Three research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $822.41.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 18,332 shares of the business'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 value of $14,018,663.72. Following the completion of 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $775.95, for a total transaction of $46,557,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 237,205 shares in the company, valued at approximately $184,059,219.75. This trade represents a 20.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 259,674 shares of company stock valued at $197,549,274 in the last three months. 13.61% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ META traded up $6.45 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $771.15. The company had a trading volume of 6,316,569 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,680,447. The stock has a market cap of $1.94 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.92, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.24. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $479.80 and a 12 month high of $796.25. 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 firm's 50 day simple moving average is $742.75 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $662.53.

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 during 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 company posted $5.16 earnings per share. Meta Platforms has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

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.