Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Position Lowered by Mount Vernon Associates Inc. MD

Mount Vernon Associates Inc. MD cut its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 13,469 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 61 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up 7.2% of Mount Vernon Associates Inc. MD’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Mount Vernon Associates Inc. MD’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $9,941,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of META. O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the second quarter valued at about $218,000. Talbot Financial LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the second quarter valued at about $204,000. Silvia Mccoll Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the second quarter valued at about $238,000. Diligent Investors LLC lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 4.3% in the second quarter. Diligent Investors LLC now owns 6,804 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $5,022,000 after acquiring an additional 281 shares during the period. Finally, Willner & Heller LLC lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 5.6% in the second quarter. Willner & Heller LLC now owns 863 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $637,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

META has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $635.00 to $740.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Benchmark increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $890.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Citizens Jmp increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $900.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Raymond James Financial increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Four investment 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 target price of $830.68.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $716.98, for a total transaction of $372,112.62. Following the sale, the insider owned 29,313 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,016,834.74. This trade represents a 1.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 465 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $757.47, for a total value of $352,223.55. Following the sale, the director directly owned 8,412 shares in the company, valued at $6,371,837.64. This trade represents a 5.24% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 213,665 shares of company stock valued at $164,575,272. 13.61% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $705.30 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $752.20 and a 200-day moving average price of $679.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.97 and a quick ratio of 1.97. The stock has a market cap of $1.77 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.20. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $479.80 and a 1 year high of $796.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The social networking company reported $7.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.75 by $1.39. The firm had revenue of $47.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $44.55 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 39.99% and a return on equity of 39.33%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $5.16 earnings per share. Meta Platforms has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 29th. Investors of record on Monday, September 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 22nd. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.60%.

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.