Meta Platforms, Inc. $META is Westbourne Investments Inc.'s 4th Largest Position

Key Points

• Westbourne Investments Inc. reduced its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. by 19.8%, selling 2,293 shares and now holding 9,266 shares worth approximately $6.84 million.
• Meta Platforms reported $7.14 earnings per share, surpassing analysts' estimates of $5.75, while revenue climbed 21.6% year-over-year to $47.52 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.525 per share, with an annualized dividend yield of 0.3%, to be paid on September 29th.

Westbourne Investments Inc. lowered its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 19.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,266 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 2,293 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises approximately 3.6% of Westbourne Investments Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Westbourne Investments Inc.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $6,839,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of META. Inlight Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter worth $28,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter worth $33,000. JCIC Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 102.6% during the 1st quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. now owns 79 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principia Wealth Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 53.6% during the 1st 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 18,332 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $764.71, for a total transaction of $14,018,663.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 84,141 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $64,343,464.11. The trade was a 17.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 60,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $775.95, for a total value of $46,557,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 237,205 shares of the company's stock, valued at $184,059,219.75. The trade was a 20.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 258,422 shares of company stock valued at $196,762,982. 13.61% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of META traded up $4.53 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $780.25. 10,936,347 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,070,634. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $745.84 and a 200-day moving average of $664.98. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $479.80 and a one year high of $796.25. The firm has a market cap of $1.96 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.25, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.24. 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 (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 for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $47.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $44.55 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $5.16 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. Meta Platforms has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on META shares. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $800.00 target price (up from $725.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $635.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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. Roth Capital lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $620.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Wedbush boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $920.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $826.05.

About Meta Platforms

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.