Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Position Trimmed by Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD cut its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 7.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 39,132,171 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 3,185,263 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up approximately 2.8% of Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $22,554,219,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of META. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 34,551 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $20,230,000 after purchasing an additional 570 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC lifted 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 purchasing an additional 875 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 221,459 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $129,666,000 after purchasing an additional 7,587 shares in the last quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 6,189 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $3,624,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Benchstone Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth approximately $23,749,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on META. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $795.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $685.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Susquehanna decreased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $700.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $846.00 to $918.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $640.00 to $810.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $822.41.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 1.2%

Meta Platforms stock opened at $739.10 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $479.80 and a fifty-two week high of $796.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a current ratio of 1.97. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $728.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $657.34. The company has a market capitalization of $1.86 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.27.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its 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 net margin of 39.99% and a return on equity of 39.33%. The firm had revenue of $47.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $44.55 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.16 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. Meta Platforms has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. Research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.60%.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 465 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $784.32, for a total value of $364,708.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 8,877 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,962,408.64. This trade represents a 4.98% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $775.00, for a total transaction of $402,225.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 32,946 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,533,150. This trade represents a 1.55% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 313,803 shares of company stock worth $235,276,424 in the last three months. Company insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

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.