Nicola Wealth Management LTD. Sells 4,000 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Nicola Wealth Management LTD. reduced its stake in Meta Platforms by 9.2% in Q1, selling 4,000 shares and now holds 39,500 shares valued at approximately $22.8 million.
• Meta Platforms reported a Q2 earnings per share (EPS) of $7.14, exceeding analysts' expectations of $5.75, with revenues of $47.52 billion—a 21.6% increase year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.525 per share, which is set to be paid on September 29, yielding an annualized rate of 0.3%.

Nicola Wealth Management LTD. decreased its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 9.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 39,500 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 4,000 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises approximately 2.2% of Nicola Wealth Management LTD.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Nicola Wealth Management LTD.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $22,766,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in META. Inlight Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. JCIC Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 102.6% in the first quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. now owns 79 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth approximately $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

META stock opened at $750.90 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $741.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $661.24. The stock has a market cap of $1.89 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 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. 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 quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The social networking company reported $7.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.75 by $1.39. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 39.99% and a return on equity of 39.33%. The business had revenue of $47.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $44.55 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $5.16 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Meta Platforms has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 22nd. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is presently 7.60%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 18,332 shares of the 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 directly owned 84,141 shares in the company, valued at approximately $64,343,464.11. This represents a 17.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 60,000 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider owned 237,205 shares in the company, valued at approximately $184,059,219.75. This represents a 20.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 283,280 shares of company stock worth $214,119,908. Insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on META shares. Loop Capital reissued a "buy" rating and set a $980.00 price target (up previously from $888.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $710.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Scotiabank increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $685.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. TD Cowen increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Citizens Jmp increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Three equities 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 MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $822.41.

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.

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