Norway Savings Bank Grows Stock Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Norway Savings Bank increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 15.3% during the second quarter, holding a total of 5,028 shares worth approximately $3.71 million.
• Numerous institutional investors made moves in Meta Platforms, with 79.91% of the stock currently owned by such entities, indicating increased interest in the company.
• Meta Platforms recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.525 per share, set to be paid on September 29, which represents a 0.3% yield.

Norway Savings Bank lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 15.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,028 shares of the social networking company's stock after buying an additional 666 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises 1.9% of Norway Savings Bank's investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. Norway Savings Bank's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $3,711,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. HBW Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.7% during the second quarter. HBW Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,810 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $8,716,000 after buying an additional 313 shares during the last quarter. Crumly & Associates Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 154.1% during the second quarter. Crumly & Associates Inc. now owns 1,085 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $801,000 after purchasing an additional 658 shares during the period. Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.5% in the second quarter. Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc. now owns 27,483 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $20,286,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares during the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 8.9% in the second quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 14,956 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $11,039,000 after buying an additional 1,224 shares during the period. Finally, Park National Corp OH raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 24.2% during the 2nd quarter. Park National Corp OH now owns 57,733 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $42,612,000 after buying an additional 11,251 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

META has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $795.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Meta Platforms from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $905.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $780.00 to $860.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have given a Buy rating and five have given 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.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of META traded up $4.69 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $755.59. The company had a trading volume of 8,240,448 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,519,708. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a current ratio of 1.97. The company has a market capitalization of $1.90 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.24. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $741.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $661.86. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $479.80 and a 52 week 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.75 by $1.39. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 39.33% and a net margin of 39.99%.The business had revenue of $47.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $44.55 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.16 earnings per share. 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. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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 given a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 22nd. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is 7.60%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 18,332 shares of the company'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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 84,141 shares in the company, valued at approximately $64,343,464.11. This represents a 17.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $755.65, for a total transaction of $390,671.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 11,577 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,748,160.05. The trade was a 4.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 283,280 shares of company stock valued at $214,119,908 in the last quarter. 13.61% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.