Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Acquired by Hodges Capital Management Inc.

Hodges Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 24.1% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 10,598 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 2,056 shares during the period. Hodges Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $6,108,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Lantern Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Lantern Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,976 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,743,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. ABLE Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. ABLE Financial Group LLC now owns 2,136 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,251,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Cedar Point Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Cedar Point Capital Partners LLC now owns 752 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $433,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. Mosaic Family Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Mosaic Family Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,435 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $840,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Orin Green Financial LLC lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Orin Green Financial LLC now owns 795 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $465,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider owned 237,205 shares in the company, valued at approximately $184,059,219.75. This represents a 20.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 18,332 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $764.71, for a total value of $14,018,663.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 84,141 shares in the company, valued at approximately $64,343,464.11. The trade was a 17.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 283,280 shares of company stock worth $214,119,908. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

META has been the topic of several research reports. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $710.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $795.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Loop Capital reissued a “buy” rating and set a $980.00 target price (up previously from $888.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $640.00 to $810.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Three equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $822.41.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $750.90 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $741.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $661.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.97 and a quick ratio of 1.97. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $479.80 and a 1-year high of $796.25. The company has a market cap of $1.89 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.24.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The social networking company reported $7.14 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $47.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $44.55 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $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. Analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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