Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Sold by W.G. Shaheen & Associates DBA Whitney & Co

W.G. Shaheen & Associates DBA Whitney & Co trimmed its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 0.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 53,385 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 219 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 3.9% of W.G. Shaheen & Associates DBA Whitney & Co’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. W.G. Shaheen & Associates DBA Whitney & Co’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $39,403,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors now owns 3,506 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,587,000 after buying an additional 13 shares during the last quarter. Pachira Investments Inc. increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 3.0% in the second quarter. Pachira Investments Inc. now owns 488 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $360,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the period. Hemington Wealth Management raised its position in Meta Platforms by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 2,223 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,641,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Myecfo LLC lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Myecfo LLC now owns 776 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $573,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the period. Finally, Shelton Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Shelton Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,764 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,302,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Zacks Research raised Meta Platforms from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Scotiabank upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $685.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Roth Capital restated a “buy” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 1st. Finally, Erste Group Bank cut shares of Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-seven have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $827.60.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

NASDAQ:META opened at $609.89 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $479.80 and a twelve month high of $796.25. The company has a fifty day moving average of $716.58 and a 200-day moving average of $703.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.54 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.20.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The social networking company reported $7.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.74 by $0.51. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 30.89% and a return on equity of 39.35%. The business had revenue of $51.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $49.34 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $6.03 earnings per share. Meta Platforms’s revenue was up 26.2% on a year-over-year basis. Meta Platforms has set its Q4 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 22nd were paid a $0.525 dividend. 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 currently 9.28%.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $631.00, for a total transaction of $326,227.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 6,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,369,044. This represents a 6.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 465 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $716.97, for a total value of $333,391.05. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 7,947 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,697,760.59. This trade represents a 5.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 44,421 shares of company stock valued at $33,573,980 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

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.