Insider Selling: Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Director Sells 580 Shares of Stock

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Director Robert Kimmitt sold 580 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $639.18, for a total value of $370,724.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 5,007 shares in the company, valued at $3,200,374.26. This represents a 10.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of META traded up $1.56 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $644.78. 9,996,912 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 16,641,813. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $479.80 and a 12 month high of $796.25. The stock has a market cap of $1.63 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 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. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $656.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $691.28.

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

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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

Meta Platforms News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Major Nvidia multiyear deal — Meta committed to millions of NVIDIA GPUs plus future Rubin/Vera CPUs, networking and codesign work, which secures chip supply and materially accelerates Meta’s AI infrastructure roadmap. NVIDIA and Meta Deepen Their AI Alliance
• Positive Sentiment: Institutional support and analyst conviction — hedge funds and prominent managers have added to META on the AI thesis and several sell‑side firms have raised price targets, lending momentum to the rally. David Tepper goes big on Micron, Meta and Alphabet
• Neutral Sentiment: Product/UX noise — reports that Meta has revived a smartwatch project for 2026 and is shutting down Messenger’s standalone website; strategically relevant but limited near‑term revenue impact. Meta reboots smartwatch plan Meta is shutting down Messenger’s standalone website
• Negative Sentiment: High‑profile legal risk — CEO Mark Zuckerberg is testifying in a landmark youth‑addiction trial over Instagram’s impact on teens; regulatory or reputational fallout could weigh on engagement and ad targeting. Zuckerberg faces questioning at youth addiction trial
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling — recent SEC filings show material share sales by senior executives (COO/CFO), which can create short‑term selling pressure or be read as liquidity taking. Li SEC filing
• Negative Sentiment: Massive capex burden — coverage highlights a ~$115–$135B 2026 CapEx plan to build owned AI data centers; if monetization lags this could pressure margins and returns. Marketbeat CapEx coverage

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on META shares. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $808.00 to $890.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $880.00 to $920.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Raymond James Financial cut their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $800.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $844.29.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in META. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors lifted 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 buying an additional 13 shares during the period. Trust Co of the South lifted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $1,359,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the period. Sentinel Pension Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.6% during the third 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 boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.3% during the third 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. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 3.2% in the third quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 454 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $334,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.