Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Bought by Woodward Diversified Capital LLC

Woodward Diversified Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 25.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,225 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 854 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for about 1.6% of Woodward Diversified Capital LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Woodward Diversified Capital LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $3,119,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Inlight Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the first quarter worth approximately $33,000. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 237.5% during the second quarter. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC now owns 54 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JCIC Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 102.6% during the first quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. now owns 79 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 0.7%

NASDAQ META opened at $717.84 on Thursday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $479.80 and a twelve month 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 stock has a market cap of $1.80 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.99, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.20. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $753.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $677.44.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The social networking company reported $7.14 EPS 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 business had revenue of $47.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $44.55 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.16 EPS. Meta Platforms’s revenue was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. Meta Platforms has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 22nd. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is currently 7.60%.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 15,847 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $769.38, for a total transaction of $12,192,364.86. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 11,694 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $775.00, for a total transaction of $9,062,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 1,799 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,394,225. This represents a 86.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 213,663 shares of company stock valued at $164,574,107. Insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

META has been the topic of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Wednesday. HSBC upgraded Meta Platforms from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $610.00 to $900.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $920.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $800.00 price objective (up previously from $725.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $775.00 to $870.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Four 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $830.61.

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.