WealthTrust Asset Management LLC Sells 470 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

WealthTrust Asset Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 11.7% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 3,543 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 470 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for about 2.0% of WealthTrust Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest position. WealthTrust Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $2,615,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Infusive Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Meta Platforms by 10.7% in the 1st quarter. Infusive Asset Management Inc. now owns 23,620 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $13,614,000 after buying an additional 2,285 shares in the last quarter. Spirepoint Private Client LLC grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 2.7% in the second quarter. Spirepoint Private Client LLC now owns 4,080 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $3,011,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 11.0% during the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 210,526 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $155,387,000 after acquiring an additional 20,912 shares in the last quarter. Stephens Inc. AR lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 5.6% in the 2nd quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 84,687 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $62,507,000 after purchasing an additional 4,473 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Motiv8 Investments LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms by 11.5% in the 2nd quarter. Motiv8 Investments LLC now owns 2,080 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,535,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $591.60, for a total transaction of $307,040.40. Following the transaction, the insider owned 34,631 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,487,699.60. This represents a 1.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $609.35, for a total value of $365,610.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 7,347 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,476,894.45. The trade was a 7.55% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 40,923 shares of company stock worth $26,126,437 in the last three months. Insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 3.8%

META stock opened at $636.22 on Wednesday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $479.80 and a 1-year high of $796.25. The stock has a market cap of $1.60 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.20. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $691.78 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $706.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The social networking company reported $7.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.74 by $0.51. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 30.89% and a return on equity of 39.35%. The company had revenue of $51.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $49.34 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $6.03 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 26.2% on a year-over-year basis. Meta Platforms has set its Q4 2025 guidance at EPS. Analysts expect 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 paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 22nd. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.28%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $800.00 price objective on the stock. KeyCorp cut their price target on Meta Platforms from $905.00 to $875.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. DA Davidson set a $825.00 price objective on Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Pivotal Research raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $830.00 to $930.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $710.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $823.93.

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.