Rice Partnership LLC Increases Stock Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Rice Partnership LLC increased its stock position in Meta Platforms, Inc. by 21.9% in Q2, now holding 14,379 shares valued at approximately $10.6 million, making it the firm's 18th largest investment.
• Various institutional investors have also raised their stakes in Meta, indicating strong interest, with institutional ownership now at 79.91%.
• Wall Street analysts are optimistic about Meta, with multiple firms increasing their price targets, resulting in an average target of $830.68 and an overall "Moderate Buy" rating for the stock.

Rice Partnership LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 21.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 14,379 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,583 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises about 1.8% of Rice Partnership LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. Rice Partnership LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $10,613,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Csenge Advisory Group grew its position in Meta Platforms by 12.0% during the first quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 9,539 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $5,498,000 after buying an additional 1,019 shares during the period. ARQ Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms by 4.5% during the first quarter. ARQ Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 785 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $452,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. JMG Financial Group Ltd. bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the first quarter valued at about $284,000. Infusive Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Meta Platforms by 10.7% during the first quarter. Infusive Asset Management Inc. now owns 23,620 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $13,614,000 after buying an additional 2,285 shares during the period. Finally, Spirepoint Private Client LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms by 2.7% during the second quarter. Spirepoint Private Client LLC now owns 4,080 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $3,011,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

META has been the subject of several research reports. Roth Capital increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $620.00 to $740.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $740.00 to $840.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and set a $920.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $795.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $635.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $830.68.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $707.85, for a total value of $367,374.15. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 28,794 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,381,832.90. This trade represents a 1.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $713.34, for a total transaction of $368,796.78. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 8,992 shares in the company, valued at $6,414,353.28. This trade represents a 5.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 214,182 shares of company stock valued at $164,933,323 over the last three months. 13.61% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of META opened at $716.91 on Friday. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $746.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $683.03. The company has a market capitalization of $1.80 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.20. 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, 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 earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The social networking company reported $7.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.75 by $1.39. The business 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 quarterly revenue was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $5.16 earnings per share. Meta Platforms has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 29th. Investors of record on Monday, September 22nd were paid a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 22nd. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.60%.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding META? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report).

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.