Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Acquired by Sapient Capital LLC

Key Points

• Sapient Capital LLC has increased its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. by 12.2%, owning a total of 173,937 shares valued at approximately $128.4 million.
• Meta Platforms reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $7.14 for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' estimates by $1.39, and revenues reached $47.52 billion.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.525, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 0.3%.

Sapient Capital LLC grew its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 12.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 173,937 shares of the social networking company's stock after acquiring an additional 18,872 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises 2.3% of Sapient Capital LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Sapient Capital LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $128,381,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Inlight Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the first quarter worth $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. JCIC Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Meta Platforms by 102.6% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Principia Wealth Advisory LLC increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 53.6% during the first quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 86 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 1.7%

NASDAQ:META traded down $13.22 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $765.16. The company's stock had a trading volume of 11,659,363 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,828,774. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $479.80 and a 52-week high of $796.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.97, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.92 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.24. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $747.94 and a 200-day moving average of $667.24.

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 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $44.55 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $5.16 EPS. The business'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, equities analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $767.16, for a total transaction of $398,156.04. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 30,870 shares in the company, valued at $23,682,229.20. This trade represents a 1.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,377,618.20. This trade represents a 4.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over 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 corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

META has been the subject of several recent research reports. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $808.00 to $880.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Citigroup reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $780.00 to $860.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. DA Davidson increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $825.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Loop Capital reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $980.00 target price (up from $888.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $826.05.

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.