Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) CTO Andrew Bosworth Sells 5,063 Shares

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 5,063 shares of the stock in a transaction on Saturday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $609.46, for a total transaction of $3,085,695.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 6,936 shares in the company, valued at $4,227,214.56. The trade was a 42.20% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ META traded down $4.32 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $597.69. 25,416,877 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 15,371,469. 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 price is $710.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $706.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.51 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.40, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a quick ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The social networking company reported $7.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.74 by $0.51. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 39.35% and a net margin of 30.89%.The business had revenue of $51.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $49.34 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $6.03 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.2% on a year-over-year basis. Meta Platforms has set its Q4 2025 guidance at EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 29th. Investors of record on Monday, September 22nd were 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 was Monday, September 22nd. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.28%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

META has been the subject of several research reports. Rosenblatt Securities upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $1,086.00 to $1,117.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $875.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $850.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $900.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Meta Platforms from $950.00 to $910.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $827.60.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in META. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.4% in the second quarter. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors now owns 3,506 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,587,000 after acquiring an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. Pachira Investments Inc. raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. Pachira Investments Inc. now owns 488 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $360,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Hemington Wealth Management boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 2,223 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,641,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Trust Co of the South boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Trust Co of the South now owns 1,850 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,359,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sentinel Pension Advisors LLC grew its position in 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Company Profile

Meta Platforms, Inc engages in the development of products that enable people to connect and share with friends and family through mobile devices, personal computers, virtual reality headsets, and wearables worldwide. It operates in two segments, Family of Apps and Reality Labs. The Family of Apps segment offers Facebook, which enables people to share, discuss, discover, and connect with interests; Instagram, a community for sharing photos, videos, and private messages, as well as feed, stories, reels, video, live, and shops; Messenger, a messaging application for people to connect with friends, family, communities, and businesses across platforms and devices through text, audio, and video calls; and WhatsApp, a messaging application that is used by people and businesses to communicate and transact privately.