Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Sold by Sarasin & Partners LLP

Key Points

• Sarasin & Partners LLP reduced its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. by 1.7% during Q2, selling 10,807 shares to hold 632,208 shares, valued at approximately $466.6 million.
• Analysts have raised their price targets for Meta, with Bank of America setting a new target of $900, while the stock maintains a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average target price of $826.05.
• Meta Platforms recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.525 per share, reflecting a 0.3% yield and a payout ratio of 7.60%.

Sarasin & Partners LLP reduced its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 1.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 632,208 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 10,807 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for about 4.6% of Sarasin & Partners LLP's holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Sarasin & Partners LLP's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $466,626,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 34,551 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $20,230,000 after acquiring an additional 570 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,456 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $5,537,000 after buying an additional 875 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 221,459 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $129,666,000 after purchasing an additional 7,587 shares during the last quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 6,189 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $3,624,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CSS LLC IL grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 14.6% during the 4th quarter. CSS LLC IL now owns 2,035 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,192,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on META shares. Needham & Company LLC upgraded shares of Meta Platforms from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Roth Capital increased their price objective 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. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $780.00 to $860.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $808.00 to $880.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Loop Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $980.00 price target (up previously from $888.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Three equities 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $826.05.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $767.16, for a total transaction of $398,156.04. Following the sale, the insider owned 30,870 shares of the company's stock, valued at $23,682,229.20. The trade was a 1.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $757.47, for a total value of $391,611.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 11,060 shares in the company, valued at $8,377,618.20. The trade was a 4.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 257,922 shares of company stock valued at $196,412,792 over the last quarter. Insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

NASDAQ:META traded down $1.87 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $778.38. The company's stock had a trading volume of 22,494,703 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,174,566. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $479.80 and a fifty-two week high of $796.25. The firm's 50 day moving average is $747.06 and its 200-day moving average is $665.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.97 and a quick ratio of 1.97. The firm has a market cap of $1.96 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.24.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 39.99% and a return on equity of 39.33%. The firm had revenue of $47.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $44.55 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.16 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Meta Platforms has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 22nd will be issued 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 dividend payout ratio is 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.