Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Stock Holdings Reduced by Northern Trust Corp

Key Points

• Northern Trust Corp reduced its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. by 1.8% in Q1, now owning 23,020,594 shares, which constitutes approximately 2.0% of its portfolio and makes it the fifth largest holding.
• Insiders at Meta, including CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Christopher K. Cox, sold significant amounts of stock, totaling over $235 million in the last quarter, resulting in a 20.19% decrease in Cox's ownership alone.
• Multiple analysts have boosted their target prices for Meta Platforms, with some reaching as high as $930.00, and the stock maintains an average rating of "Moderate Buy."

Northern Trust Corp decreased its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 1.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,020,594 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 424,971 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises approximately 2.0% of Northern Trust Corp's portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Northern Trust Corp owned 0.91% of Meta Platforms worth $13,268,150,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Inlight Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, JCIC Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 102.6% during 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 60,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $775.95, for a total value of $46,557,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 237,205 shares in the company, valued at approximately $184,059,219.75. The trade was a 20.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 15,847 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $753.43, for a total transaction of $11,939,605.21. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 313,803 shares of company stock valued at $235,276,424. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

META has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $780.00 to $860.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Pivotal Research boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $830.00 to $930.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. JMP Securities boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $920.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $822.41.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 2.1%

Meta Platforms stock opened at $751.48 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $1.89 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.21, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.27. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $479.80 and a fifty-two week high of $796.25. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $726.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $656.42. 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 (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The social networking company reported $7.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.75 by $1.39. The firm had revenue of $47.52 billion for 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 quarterly revenue was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $5.16 earnings per share. Meta Platforms has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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

About Meta Platforms

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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