Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Position Increased by First Community Trust NA

First Community Trust NA raised its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,155 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 196 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up 4.9% of First Community Trust NA’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. First Community Trust NA’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $6,019,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Inlight Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. JCIC Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 102.6% during the 1st quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. now owns 79 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at about $47,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $755.59 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.97, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $741.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $661.83. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $479.80 and a 12-month high of $796.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.90 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.36, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.24.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The social networking company reported $7.14 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $47.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $44.55 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.16 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Meta Platforms has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other news, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 237,205 shares in the company, valued at $184,059,219.75. The trade was a 20.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 15,847 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $753.43, for a total value of $11,939,605.21. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 283,280 shares of company stock worth $214,119,908 over the last quarter. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on META shares. TD Cowen raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Roth Capital raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $620.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $808.00 to $880.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded Meta Platforms from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $822.41.

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.