Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Insider Jennifer Newstead Sells 519 Shares

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $658.69, for a total transaction of $341,860.11. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 28,658 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,876,738.02. This trade represents a 1.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Jennifer Newstead also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, December 23rd, Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $659.38, for a total transaction of $342,218.22.
• On Tuesday, December 16th, Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $643.23, for a total transaction of $333,836.37.
• On Tuesday, December 9th, Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $664.16, for a total transaction of $344,699.04.
• On Tuesday, December 2nd, Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $642.22, for a total value of $333,312.18.
• On Tuesday, November 25th, Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $624.14, for a total value of $323,928.66.
• On Tuesday, November 18th, Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $591.60, for a total value of $307,040.40.
• On Monday, November 10th, Jennifer Newstead sold 516 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $631.00, for a total value of $325,596.00.
• On Tuesday, November 4th, Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $628.00, for a total value of $325,932.00.
• On Tuesday, October 28th, Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $753.00, for a total value of $390,807.00.
• On Tuesday, October 21st, Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $736.37, for a total transaction of $382,176.03.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of Meta Platforms stock opened at $665.96 on Wednesday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $479.80 and a one year high of $796.25. The company has a market cap of $1.68 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.42, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a current ratio of 1.98. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $652.00 and a two-hundred day moving average of $706.02.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The social networking company reported $7.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.74 by $0.51. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 30.89% and a return on equity of 39.35%. The business had revenue of $51.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $49.34 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $6.03 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 26.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th were paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is 9.28%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 192,591,101 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $142,149,566,000 after purchasing an additional 1,532,568 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.9% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 86,925,674 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $64,158,971,000 after buying an additional 1,650,435 shares in the last quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 608,429.2% in the second quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC now owns 59,775,823 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $44,119,937,000 after buying an additional 59,766,000 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.3% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 51,575,209 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $37,902,948,000 after buying an additional 682,768 shares during the period. Finally, Capital World Investors boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 0.7% during the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 39,247,690 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $28,823,375,000 after acquiring an additional 278,180 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on META. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on Meta Platforms from $840.00 to $810.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $870.00 price target (down previously from $900.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Oppenheimer cut shares of Meta Platforms from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Raymond James Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $825.00 target price (down from $900.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, DA Davidson set a $825.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $820.22.

Meta Platforms News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta agreed to acquire Manus, a Singapore-based agentic AI startup (reported ~ $2B). Investors view the deal as a direct bolt-on for Meta’s agent/automation strategy, accelerating product integration across Facebook/Instagram/WhatsApp and adding millions of paying users. Meta to acquire Chinese startup Manus to boost advanced AI features
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street remains constructive: multiple buy ratings and rising price targets (e.g., Rosenblatt reaffirmed buy with a $1,117 PT), reinforcing confidence that Meta’s heavy AI spending could pay off long term. Benzinga
• Neutral Sentiment: Debate over AI capex continues — investors accept higher near-term spending for models/data centers, but that capex remains a watch item for margins and free cash flow. Coverage and options commentary highlight both opportunity and short-term volatility. Buy Stock in the Mag 7 hypsercalers — AI spending debate
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: COO Javier Oliván and Chief Legal Officer Jennifer Newstead reported sales of ~517 and ~519 shares respectively in late December — the disclosures add near-term headline pressure even though sizes are small relative to holdings. Olivan SEC filing Newstead SEC filing
• Negative Sentiment: Legal risk: the U.S. Virgin Islands sued Meta, alleging the company profited from scam ads and failed to protect children — litigation could create regulatory and reputational pressure. Meta is sued by US Virgin Islands over ads for scams, dangers to children
• Negative Sentiment: Geopolitical/regulatory scrutiny: Manus’s founders’ China ties have already drawn attention in Washington — that could slow integrations or trigger extra review, increasing execution risk. Meta snaps up AI startup Manus for $2B, drawing scrutiny over Chinese roots

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.