Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Sold by Sovran Advisors LLC

Sovran Advisors LLC cut its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 28.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 11,249 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 4,581 shares during the period. Sovran Advisors LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $8,261,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bare Financial Services Inc acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the second quarter worth $42,000. Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter worth about $44,000. WFA Asset Management Corp raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 42.6% during the second quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 67 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Spurstone Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter valued at $59,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 2.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $691.70 on Wednesday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $479.80 and a 52 week high of $796.25. The company’s 50 day moving average is $655.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $695.91. The company has a market cap of $1.74 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a current ratio of 2.60, a quick ratio of 2.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The social networking company reported $8.88 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.16 by $0.72. The business had revenue of $59.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.33 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.61% and a net margin of 30.08%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $8.02 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th were given a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 15th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is currently 8.94%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 2,610 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Saturday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $609.46, for a total transaction of $1,590,690.60. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 9,784 shares in the company, valued at $5,962,956.64. This trade represents a 21.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 11,690 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $593.31, for a total transaction of $6,935,793.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer owned 2,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,432,843.65. This trade represents a 82.88% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 39,077 shares of company stock worth $23,955,958. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Trending Headlines about Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street has been upgrading Meta and lifting price targets after the company’s strong Q4 print and exceptionally strong Q1 revenue guide, supporting upside expectations. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Several brokerages reiterated/raised ratings — examples include Cantor Fitzgerald bumping its target to $860 and Barclays keeping an Overweight — reinforcing the buy-side view that fundamentals and ad recovery justify higher multiples. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Macro/tech headlines around AI capex are creating mixed market reactions: Meta’s AI investments and infrastructure plans underpin growth but also increase near-term spending volatility; that ambiguity is tempering momentum. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta is locking in off-grid power for hyperscale data needs (reported prepayment/agreements with SMR developers), which secures energy for AI workloads but implies long-dated infrastructure commitments. This is strategic but capital-intensive. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts and commentators warn that AI capex and Reality Labs spending are rising quickly; several notes caution that mounting expenses could compress margins if revenue acceleration slows. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory risk: India’s top court questioned WhatsApp’s data-sharing with Meta entities and warned a ban could be reimposed — a tangible legal/regulatory headwind in a major market. Read More.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. BNP Paribas Exane initiated coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, November 24th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $800.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen cut Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 1st. Scotiabank raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $685.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Oppenheimer lowered Meta Platforms from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Redburn Partners set a $900.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, January 26th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-one have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $848.50.

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.