Diversified Management Inc. Sells 2,396 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Diversified Management Inc. cut its Meta stake by 48.2% in the second quarter, selling 2,396 shares and retaining 2,578 shares valued at approximately $1.45 million. Institutional investors collectively own 79.91% of Meta.
• Meta insiders also sold shares, including COO Javier Olivan and CTO Andrew Bosworth under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans. Insiders sold 36,715 shares worth about $22.4 million during the quarter.
• Meta reported quarterly revenue of $60.8 billion, up 28% year over year and above estimates, but earnings per share of $6.18 missed consensus. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $785.32, despite several recent target reductions.

Diversified Management Inc. lessened its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 48.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,578 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 2,396 shares during the quarter. Diversified Management Inc.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $1,452,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of META. RHL Group LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Niles Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Axiom Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the first quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Bayban increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 100.0% in the first quarter. Bayban now owns 70 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 3,348 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.97, for a total value of $2,012,047.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 9,498 shares in the company, valued at $5,708,013.06. This trade represents a 26.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,847 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.83, for a total transaction of $4,769,642.01. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 414 shares of the company's stock, valued at $251,641.62. The trade was a 94.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last quarter, insiders sold 36,715 shares of company stock worth $22,374,725. 13.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $599.12 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $1.53 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.57, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.25. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $520.26 and a 12 month high of $796.25. The company has a current ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $597.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $621.56.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.19 by ($1.01). Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 33.18% and a net margin of 29.83%.The company had revenue of $60.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $60.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $7.14 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th were given a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is currently 7.91%.

More Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta released Muse Glimmer, a 30-billion-parameter open-weight AI model designed to run locally on consumer computers. The strategy could accelerate developer adoption, improve Meta’s recommendation and advertising systems, and pressure rivals such as OpenAI and Anthropic by making advanced AI more widely available. Meta Muse Glimmer model
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and bullish commentary continue to highlight Meta’s underlying advertising strength. Second-quarter revenue rose about 28% year over year, supported by higher ad impressions and pricing, while WhatsApp monetization and AI-powered business tools provide potential additional growth. Meta valuation and advertising growth
• Positive Sentiment: Mark Zuckerberg’s plan to make AI broadly accessible reinforces Meta’s long-term positioning in consumer AI and could expand engagement across Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. Zuckerberg AI vision
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta and other leading AI companies will meet White House officials regarding voluntary safety testing for advanced models. The meeting may increase compliance costs, but coordinated standards could reduce longer-term regulatory uncertainty. AI safety discussions
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported short-interest data shows zero shares and therefore provides no meaningful indication of bearish positioning.
• Negative Sentiment: Meta will unwind its planned $2 billion acquisition of Chinese AI startup Manus after regulatory pressure from China. The reversal highlights geopolitical obstacles to Meta’s AI expansion and eliminates a potential source of technology and talent. Manus deal unwinds
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned that Meta’s 2026 capital expenditures could reach $130 billion to $145 billion. Rapidly rising costs have compressed margins and sharply reduced free cash flow, while analysts have lowered some future EPS forecasts. Meta AI spending and margins
• Negative Sentiment: A major court ruling allows more than 3,000 lawsuits alleging that social-media platforms encouraged addictive use among young people to proceed. The litigation creates potentially significant financial, reputational and regulatory risk for Meta. Youth addiction lawsuits

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Meta Platforms from $815.00 to $725.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Rosenblatt Securities reduced their price objective on Meta Platforms from $1,015.00 to $883.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $785.00 price objective (down from $800.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Roth Capital reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $800.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $785.32.

Meta Platforms 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.

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