Stevens Capital Management LP grew its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 170.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,582 shares of the social networking company's stock after buying an additional 10,443 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up 2.4% of Stevens Capital Management LP's portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Stevens Capital Management LP's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $9,557,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Valley Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Valley Financial Group Inc. now owns 588 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $344,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Lantern Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Lantern Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,976 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $1,743,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Riverwater Partners LLC grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Riverwater Partners LLC now owns 572 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $335,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. ABLE Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mosaic Family Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Mosaic Family Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,435 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $840,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Meta Platforms Stock Performance
Shares of NASDAQ META traded down $4.79 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $695.21. 26,166,475 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,688,610. The firm has a market cap of $1.75 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.11, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.28. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $450.80 and a twelve month high of $747.90. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $696.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $643.47. The company has a quick ratio of 2.66, a current ratio of 2.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.
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 39.11% and a return on equity of 38.69%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.16 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Meta Platforms Announces Dividend
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.30%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is currently 8.19%.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several analysts have commented on the stock. Susquehanna decreased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $700.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $690.00 to $765.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Benchmark increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $640.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $754.07.
View Our Latest Research Report on META
Insider Activity at Meta Platforms
In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 2,361 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $716.48, for a total value of $1,691,609.28. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 465 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $723.08, for a total transaction of $336,232.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 9,342 shares in the company, valued at $6,755,013.36. This represents a 4.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 152,461 shares of company stock worth $105,335,225 over the last 90 days. 13.61% of the stock is owned by insiders.
Meta Platforms Profile
(
Free Report)
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.
Read More

Before you consider Meta Platforms, you'll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Meta Platforms wasn't on the list.
While Meta Platforms currently has a Moderate Buy rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.
View The Five Stocks Here
Discover the next wave of investment opportunities with our report, 7 Stocks That Will Be Magnificent in 2025. Explore companies poised to replicate the growth, innovation, and value creation of the tech giants dominating today's markets.
Get This Free Report