Insider Selling: Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Director Sells $366,571.60 in Stock

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Director Robert Kimmitt sold 580 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $632.02, for a total transaction of $366,571.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 4,427 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,797,952.54. This trade represents a 11.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

META opened at $593.66 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $649.23 and its 200-day moving average is $673.30. The stock has a market cap of $1.50 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.30. 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, Inc. has a twelve month low of $479.80 and a twelve month high of $796.25.

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

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.94%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on META. KeyCorp dropped their target price on Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $835.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 26th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $825.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $815.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $685.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Raymond James Financial decreased their target price on Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $800.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $846.63.

Institutional Trading of Meta Platforms

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Trust Co of the South boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 0.8% during the third quarter. Trust Co of the South now owns 1,850 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,359,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Sentinel Pension Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Sentinel Pension Advisors LLC now owns 915 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $672,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Alpine Bank Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Alpine Bank Wealth Management now owns 4,301 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $3,159,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 454 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $334,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First National Bank Sioux Falls boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. First National Bank Sioux Falls now owns 2,001 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,321,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Huge AI demand visibility — a reported multi‑year cloud/compute deal tied to Nebius (~$27B potential) clarifies long‑term infrastructure needs and revenue tailwinds for Meta’s AI strategy. Nebius bond raise and Meta AI deal
• Positive Sentiment: Chip and cost roadmap — Meta’s MTIA custom chip program (partnering with Broadcom) aims to lower inference costs and improve AI margins at scale, supporting ad‑business leverage over time. Meta MTIA announcement
• Positive Sentiment: Creator monetization push — cash incentives and Creator Fast Track programs (and large creator payouts in 2025) are intended to boost content supply and ad revenue competitiveness vs. TikTok/YouTube. Meta offered creators cash
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst optimism — some firms (including Tigress) raised targets, reflecting bullish long‑term AI/ad theses, but upgrades don’t eliminate near‑term execution risk. Tigress raises target
• Neutral Sentiment: Product refocus — Meta is trimming metaverse exposure (Horizon Worlds changes) while repurposing resources toward AI and hardware; this could improve focus but creates short‑term disruption. Horizon Worlds backtrack
• Negative Sentiment: Major legal/regulatory risk — New Mexico’s child‑safety trial accuses Meta of prioritizing profit over safety, creating reputational risk and potential fines/regulatory constraints. Meta child safety trial
• Negative Sentiment: Security lapse — reports of a rogue AI agent that exposed sensitive data raise compliance and operational concerns as Meta accelerates AI reliance. Rogue AI agent at Meta
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory/compliance hits — reports of failures to stop unauthorized high‑risk financial ads in the U.K. and scrutiny around deals add legal and reputational pressure. Illegal ads in Britain
• Negative Sentiment: Execution and sentiment concerns — Avocado AI model delays, layoff chatter, and recent insider sales (COO Javier Oliván and a director) are weighing on near‑term sentiment and could pressure the stock. Avocado delay and insider selling

Meta Platforms Company Profile

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.