Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Holdings Boosted by Aries Wealth Management

Aries Wealth Management raised its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 3.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,828 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 366 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up approximately 1.9% of Aries Wealth Management’s holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Aries Wealth Management’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $7,254,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. JGP Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 23.1% in the second quarter. JGP Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,259 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,667,000 after acquiring an additional 424 shares in the last quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 6.7% in the second quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC now owns 4,887 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $3,607,000 after acquiring an additional 305 shares in the last quarter. Innova Wealth Partners boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 5.7% in the second quarter. Innova Wealth Partners now owns 446 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $329,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 17.2% in the second quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 5,453 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $4,000,000 after acquiring an additional 801 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Courier Capital LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 20.3% in the second quarter. Courier Capital LLC now owns 2,232 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,647,000 after acquiring an additional 376 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Meta Platforms news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 18,332 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $64,343,464.11. The trade was a 17.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 60,000 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $775.95, for a total transaction of $46,557,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 237,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $184,059,219.75. The trade was a 20.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 214,182 shares of company stock worth $164,951,541 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 0.6%

NASDAQ META opened at $738.36 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.85 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a fifty day moving average of $742.11 and a 200 day moving average of $690.10. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $479.80 and a 1 year high of $796.25. 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 (NASDAQ:META) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The social networking company reported $7.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.75 by $1.39. The company had revenue of $47.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $44.55 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 39.99% and a return on equity of 39.33%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $5.16 earnings per share. Meta Platforms has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. Research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 22nd were issued a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 22nd. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is presently 7.60%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $845.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $920.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. HSBC upgraded shares of Meta Platforms from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $610.00 to $900.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Wedbush lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $920.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $829.66.

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.