Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) CFO Sells $12,212,850.00 in Stock

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) CFO Susan Li sold 18,789 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $650.00, for a total value of $12,212,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 68,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,777,200. The trade was a 21.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

NASDAQ META traded up $2.05 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $639.30. The stock had a trading volume of 10,112,034 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,170,028. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $479.80 and a 52-week high of $796.25. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $656.47 and a 200 day moving average of $688.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 2.60 and a current ratio of 2.60. The stock has a market cap of $1.62 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.28.

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

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be issued a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.94%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. Westchester Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. RHL Group LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Niles Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Bare Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on META. Scotiabank upped 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. Pivotal Research decreased their price target on Meta Platforms from $930.00 to $910.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 29th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $900.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $810.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $844.44.

Key Stories Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta struck a landmark multi‑year chip supply partnership with AMD to deploy up to 6 gigawatts of AMD AI GPUs and has the option to purchase a significant stake — reports put the deal in the tens of billions (some outlets cite $60B over five years, others larger). The agreement diversifies Meta’s AI compute suppliers (it recently announced large Nvidia commitments too), helping secure capacity for its data‑center AI buildout and reducing execution risk on its AI roadmap. VIEW AMD secures Meta as next big AI chip customer
• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s board recently approved a quarterly cash dividend ($0.525/share), a move that can attract income‑oriented investors and signals capital‑return discipline alongside capex for AI. Meta (META) Strengthens Investor Appeal With Dividend Payout and Platform Expansion Efforts
• Positive Sentiment: Meta signed a long‑term power purchase agreement for an 80 MW solar project to support U.S. data‑center operations — this reduces energy price/ESG execution risk for its AI capacity expansion. MN8 Energy ​Supports ​Meta’s U.S. Data Center ​Operations​ with 80 MW Solar Project in Pennsylvania
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta is reportedly planning to reintroduce stablecoin‑based payments across Facebook/Instagram/WhatsApp in H2 2026; this could create a new payments flow but timing, partner integration and regulatory approvals are uncertain. Meta Hopes to Launch Stablecoin Payments Project This Year
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst coverage remains broadly constructive (consensus ratings around “moderate buy”), which supports investor sentiment but doesn’t remove execution and regulatory risks. Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts
• Negative Sentiment: Court filings show internal warnings that encrypting Messenger could hinder child‑abuse reporting — the disclosures raise reputational and regulatory/legal risk that could lead to fines, oversight or product changes. Meta executive warned Facebook Messenger encryption plan was ‘so irresponsible’, shows court filing
• Negative Sentiment: Industry coverage notes hyperscalers (including Meta) are financing heavy AI capex with debt, which raises balance‑sheet and bondholder risk if returns take longer than expected. That dynamic could weigh on investor sentiment if funding costs or leverage concerns grow. How the AI debt binge shattered hyperscalers’ ‘unspoken contract’ with investors

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.