Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Acquired by Kestra Advisory Services LLC

Kestra Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 4.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 150,137 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,016 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for about 0.4% of Kestra Advisory Services LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Kestra Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $86,533,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 67,172.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 23,452,665 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $13,517,178,000 after buying an additional 23,417,803 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the first quarter worth approximately $2,990,544,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Meta Platforms by 13.5% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 23,445,565 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $13,727,613,000 after buying an additional 2,787,832 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in Meta Platforms by 712.2% in the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,537,631 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,462,589,000 after buying an additional 2,225,186 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,162,918,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 2.1%

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $754.79 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $730.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $657.68. The company has a market cap of $1.90 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $479.80 and a 12-month high of $796.25.

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

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is 7.60%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on META shares. Barclays upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $640.00 to $810.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $783.00 to $811.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. JMP Securities increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Raymond James Financial lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $905.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Three equities research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $822.41.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 11,694 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $775.00, for a total value of $9,062,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 1,799 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,394,225. This represents a 86.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 465 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 8,877 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,962,408.64. This trade represents a 4.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 313,803 shares of company stock worth $235,276,424 over the last quarter. Insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

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.