Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Shares Down 1.5% – Should You Sell?

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)’s stock price dropped 1.5% during mid-day trading on Friday. The company traded as low as $610.13 and last traded at $614.99. 24,976,023 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 38% from the average session volume of 18,076,643 shares. The stock had previously closed at $624.52.

More Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta settled a teen lawsuit alleging that Instagram and Facebook contributed to addiction, depression and eating disorders. Financial terms were not disclosed, but the agreement removes Meta from an upcoming Los Angeles trial and reduces near-term litigation uncertainty. Reuters settlement report
• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s advertising fundamentals remain strong: recent coverage cited higher ad pricing, rising impressions, improved AI-driven ad conversions and strong engagement. Analysts also see meaningful upside, with one fair-value estimate raised from $813.65 to $848.38 per share. Meta fair value report
• Positive Sentiment: Meta expanded its relationship with Advanced Micro Devices, including a $1 billion equity investment and multi-generation chip co-design for Meta’s AI data centers. The deal may improve access to computing capacity and supplier diversification. AMD and Meta partnership report

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on META shares. Raymond James Financial upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $860.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 24th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Monness Crespi & Hardt restated a “buy” rating and issued a $875.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. UBS Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $920.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Finally, DZ Bank reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $833.12.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.57 trillion, a PE ratio of 20.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.19. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $670.03 and a 200-day simple moving average of $632.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.90.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The social networking company reported $7.40 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.54 by $0.86. The firm had revenue of $64.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $63.34 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 30.73% and a net margin of 31.15%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 26.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $7.25 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 28th. Investors of record on Monday, September 21st were given a $0.5250 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 21st. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.16%.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 946 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Monday, October 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $640.00, for a total transaction of $605,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 5,040 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,225,600. The trade was a 15.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 150,015 shares of company stock valued at $102,464,300 in the last ninety days. 13.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 4.0% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 92,033,963 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $51,841,811,000 after buying an additional 3,510,123 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 14.6% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 21,038,035 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $12,036,491,000 after acquiring an additional 2,673,494 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 12,836,063 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $7,230,426,000 after acquiring an additional 162,909 shares in the last quarter. Amundi boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 18.1% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 11,858,972 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $6,784,873,000 after acquiring an additional 1,815,017 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 10,429,812 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $5,964,745,000 after acquiring an additional 404,948 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Company Profile

Meta Platforms, Inc is a technology company that develops social networking, messaging, virtual and augmented reality, and artificial intelligence products. The company’s principal platforms include Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp, and Threads, which enable users to connect, communicate, share content, and discover products and services.

Meta also operates Reality Labs, its division focused on virtual, augmented, and mixed reality technologies. Reality Labs develops products such as Meta Quest virtual reality headsets and related software and experiences, along with research and hardware intended to support immersive computing.