GDS Wealth Management Has $15.74 Million Stock Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

GDS Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 4.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 27,312 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,115 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up 1.3% of GDS Wealth Management’s holdings, making the stock its 29th biggest position. GDS Wealth Management’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $15,742,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in META. Inlight Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, JCIC Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 18,332 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $764.71, for a total value of $14,018,663.72. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 84,141 shares in the company, valued at $64,343,464.11. The trade was a 17.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 60,000 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were 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 approximately $184,059,219.75. This represents a 20.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 313,803 shares of company stock worth $235,276,424 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $739.10 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a current ratio of 1.97. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $479.80 and a 52 week high of $796.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.86 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.76, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.27. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $728.87 and its 200 day moving average is $657.34.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The social networking company reported $7.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $44.55 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $5.16 earnings per share. Meta Platforms’s revenue was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. Meta Platforms has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were given a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.60%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $800.00 price target (up previously from $725.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, July 28th. Benchmark lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $890.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $775.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. DA Davidson lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $825.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, HSBC raised Meta Platforms from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $610.00 to $900.00 in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $822.41.

Meta Platforms Company 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.