Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) CFO Sells $1,467,310.95 in Stock

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) CFO Susan Li sold 2,127 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Saturday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $689.85, for a total transaction of $1,467,310.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 15,347 shares in the company, valued at $10,587,127.95. The trade was a 12.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 0.0%

Meta Platforms stock opened at $545.83 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 2.23 and a quick ratio of 2.23. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $520.26 and a fifty-two week high of $790.80. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $593.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $615.87. The firm has a market cap of $1.39 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.56, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.19 by ($1.01). Meta Platforms had a net margin of 29.83% and a return on equity of 33.18%. The business had revenue of $60.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $7.14 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th were issued a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.91%.

Institutional Trading of Meta Platforms

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Clarus Wealth Advisors raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 9.9% during the second quarter. Clarus Wealth Advisors now owns 3,235 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,951,000 after acquiring an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. Banco de Sabadell S.A grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 19.5% in the 2nd quarter. Banco de Sabadell S.A now owns 6,054 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $3,409,000 after purchasing an additional 986 shares during the last quarter. Nan Shan Life Insurance Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 6.4% in the 2nd quarter. Nan Shan Life Insurance Co. Ltd. now owns 157,555 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $88,749,000 after purchasing an additional 9,511 shares during the last quarter. Ironvine Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1,298.5% during the 2nd quarter. Ironvine Capital Partners LLC now owns 49,129 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $27,674,000 after purchasing an additional 45,616 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Independence Bank of Kentucky lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 18,198 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $10,251,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $700.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Meta Platforms from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. Finally, Scotiabank restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $600.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $785.32.

Key Meta Platforms News

Here are the key news stories impacting Meta Platforms this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Meta launched Pocket in the United States, an AI-powered app that lets users create and share interactive games through prompts. The rollout could expand Meta’s consumer AI ecosystem and generate new engagement opportunities. Meta brings Pocket to US users
• Positive Sentiment: Meta also introduced a Mac version of Meta AI with system-wide dictation and screen-context capabilities. Separately, an analyst argued that the company’s substantial AI investments could unlock significant future revenue, supporting the long-term growth case. Meta AI launches Mac app
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth, CFO Susan Li and insider Curtis Mahoney disclosed stock sales totaling roughly $10.3 million. Each transaction was conducted under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, reducing its significance as a discretionary signal of management’s outlook, although the clustered sales may draw investor attention. Meta insider transaction filing
• Negative Sentiment: A federal trial involving California and 28 other states is intensifying. Former Meta employee Arturo Béjar testified that certain safety tools were “designed to fail,” reinforcing allegations that Facebook and Instagram were deliberately made addictive and that risks to young users were inadequately addressed. A loss could bring large penalties, mandated product changes and potential pressure on engagement and advertising monetization. Former employee testifies about Meta safety tools
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned that elevated AI infrastructure spending could weigh on second-half free cash flow, particularly after Meta’s recent earnings-per-share miss. The legal case, which some reports associate with potential liabilities reaching hundreds of billions of dollars or more, adds substantial downside risk to a stock already trading below its longer-term moving averages. Meta trial adds risk to stock

About Meta Platforms

Meta Platforms, Inc (NASDAQ: META), formerly Facebook, Inc, is a global technology company best known for building social networking services and immersive computing platforms. Founded in 2004 and headquartered in Menlo Park, California, the company operates a family of consumer-facing products and services that connect users, creators and businesses. In October 2021 the company rebranded as Meta to reflect an expanded strategic focus on augmented and virtual reality technologies alongside its social media businesses.

Meta’s core consumer products include Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger, which enable social networking, messaging, content sharing and community building across mobile and desktop devices.