Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Sold by Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC

Key Points

• Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC has reduced its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. by 56.5%, owning 5,791 shares after selling 7,513 in the first quarter, worth approximately $3,338,000.
• Meta Platforms received multiple upgraded price targets from research firms, with Goldman Sachs raising its target to $690.00 and several others increasing theirs to as high as $900.00, indicating strong investor confidence.
• CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 15,847 shares of Meta stock for about $11.9 million, while other insiders collectively sold over 313,000 shares in the last 90 days, reflecting a 20.19% decrease in Christopher K. Cox's position.

Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC trimmed its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 56.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,791 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 7,513 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for 2.8% of Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $3,338,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Valley Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Valley Financial Group Inc. now owns 588 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $344,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Lantern Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Lantern Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,976 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $1,743,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. ABLE Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. ABLE Financial Group LLC now owns 2,136 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $1,251,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Mosaic Family Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Mosaic Family Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,435 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $840,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Orin Green Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Orin Green Financial LLC now owns 795 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $465,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on META shares. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $740.00 to $840.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Zacks Research downgraded Meta Platforms from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $846.00 to $918.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $775.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $822.41.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

META traded down $0.51 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $752.79. The stock had a trading volume of 2,271,411 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,097,363. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $731.33 and a 200-day moving average price of $657.25. The firm has a market cap of $1.89 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.27. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $479.80 and a one year 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.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The social networking company reported $7.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 revenue was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $5.16 EPS. Meta Platforms has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were given a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is presently 7.60%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 465 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $784.32, for a total transaction of $364,708.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 8,877 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,962,408.64. This represents a 4.98% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $775.00, for a total value of $400,675.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 13,128 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,174,200. The trade was a 3.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 312,767 shares of company stock worth $234,618,139. 13.61% of the stock is 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.