Perpetual Ltd Has $10.20 Million Stock Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Perpetual Ltd reduced its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. by 23.3% during Q2, now holding shares worth $10.2 million after selling 4,198 shares.
• Meta reported an earnings per share of $7.14 for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $5.75 and achieving a 21.6% year-over-year revenue growth.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.525 per share, with an annualized yield of 0.3%, payable on September 29th.

Perpetual Ltd cut its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 23.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,819 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 4,198 shares during the period. Perpetual Ltd's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $10,200,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of META. Pachira Investments Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. Pachira Investments Inc. now owns 488 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $360,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the period. ABLE Financial Group LLC boosted its stake 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 buying an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Cedar Point Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 2.2% during the first quarter. Cedar Point Capital Partners LLC now owns 752 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $433,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. IAM Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. IAM Advisory LLC now owns 1,844 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,361,000 after buying an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sage Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 3.9% in the first quarter. Sage Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 453 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $261,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Meta Platforms stock opened at $778.38 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.96 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.18, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.24. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $479.80 and a 52-week high of $796.25. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $747.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $666.27. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The social networking company reported $7.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $44.55 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.16 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. Meta Platforms has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 22nd will be given a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 22nd. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is currently 7.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

META has been the subject of a number of research reports. Benchmark raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $890.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. HSBC upgraded Meta Platforms from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $610.00 to $900.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $795.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Needham & Company LLC upgraded Meta Platforms from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $825.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report 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 assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $826.05.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 465 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $757.47, for a total value of $352,223.55. Following the sale, the director directly owned 8,412 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,371,837.64. The trade was a 5.24% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $757.47, for a total transaction of $391,611.99. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 11,060 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,377,618.20. This trade represents a 4.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 257,405 shares of company stock valued at $196,059,438. 13.61% of the stock is owned by company 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.

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