Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Stake Reduced by Lewis Asset Management LLC

Key Points

• Lewis Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. by 7.1% during the second quarter, now holding 8,769 shares valued at approximately $6.47 million.
• Several institutional investors significantly increased their positions in Meta Platforms, with some reporting gains of over 600,000% in holdings during the same period.
• Meta Platforms recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.525 per share, scheduled for payment on September 29, enhancing its appeal to income-focused investors.

Lewis Asset Management LLC lowered its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 7.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 8,769 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 668 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for 3.0% of Lewis Asset Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Lewis Asset Management LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $6,472,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC increased its holdings in 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 valued at $44,119,937,000 after purchasing an additional 59,766,000 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake 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. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 2.3% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 17,669,795 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $10,184,163,000 after acquiring an additional 400,927 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in 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 raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 12,543,468 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $7,229,553,000 after purchasing an additional 536,160 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 60,000 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $775.95, for a total value of $46,557,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 237,205 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $184,059,219.75. This trade represents a 20.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 18,332 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 18th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at $64,343,464.11. This represents a 17.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 243,610 shares of company stock valued at $186,301,207. 13.61% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $760.66 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $750.00 and a 200-day moving average price of $668.49. 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 company has a market capitalization of $1.91 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.54, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.24. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $479.80 and a 1-year high of $796.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The social networking company reported $7.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.75 by $1.39. The company had revenue of $47.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $44.55 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 39.99% and a return on equity of 39.33%. Meta Platforms's revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $5.16 EPS. Meta Platforms has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on META shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $783.00 to $811.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Truist Financial set a $880.00 target price on Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, September 18th. Pivotal Research increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $830.00 to $930.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $635.00 to $740.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Roth Capital upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $620.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Three investment 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $826.05.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.