Evolve Private Wealth LLC Sells 5,638 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Evolve Private Wealth LLC reduced its Meta position by 19.8%, selling 5,638 shares and retaining 22,889 shares valued at approximately $12.9 million. Institutional investors collectively own about 79.9% of Meta’s outstanding stock.
• Meta insiders sold 61,758 shares worth roughly $37.7 million over the past 90 days, including sizable sales by Chief Accounting Officer Aaron Anderson and Christopher Cox under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $788.88. Meta also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.525 per share, representing a 0.3% annualized yield.

Evolve Private Wealth LLC trimmed its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 19.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 22,889 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 5,638 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up approximately 0.8% of Evolve Private Wealth LLC's holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Evolve Private Wealth LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $12,893,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. Objective Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Objective Capital Management LLC now owns 553 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $365,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. Watchman Group Inc. increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Watchman Group Inc. now owns 5,091 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $2,913,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the period. Penney Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.9% during the first quarter. Penney Financial LLC now owns 399 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $228,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Barnes Pettey Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in Meta Platforms by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Barnes Pettey Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,519 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $869,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWS Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.7% in the first quarter. CWS Financial Advisors LLC now owns 985 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $564,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, CAO Aaron Anderson sold 3,240 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $618.06, for a total value of $2,002,514.40. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 6,271 shares in the company, valued at $3,875,854.26. The trade was a 34.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Christopher Cox sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $650.28, for a total transaction of $13,005,600.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 244,516 shares in the company, valued at $159,003,864.48. This represents a 7.56% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 61,758 shares of company stock valued at $37,709,420 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

META has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Phillip Securities upgraded Meta Platforms to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $770.00 to $763.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. DA Davidson cut their price objective on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $700.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Friday, September 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $785.00 target price (down from $800.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $788.88.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

META opened at $673.31 on Thursday. 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 firm's 50-day moving average price is $605.39 and its 200 day moving average price is $609.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.72 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.36, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.25. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $520.26 and a twelve month high of $790.80.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.19 by ($1.01). Meta Platforms had a net margin of 29.83% and a return on equity of 33.18%. The company had revenue of $60.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $7.14 EPS. Meta Platforms's revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 21st. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.91%.

More Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: AI subscriptions create a potential new revenue stream. Meta launched Meta One subscription tiers offering expanded access to AI tools and premium features across Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. The company says the program has reached 15 million subscriptions and trials, supporting the case that Meta can generate recurring revenue beyond advertising. Reuters article on Meta One subscriptions
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain bullish. Rosenblatt reaffirmed a Buy rating with an $886 price target, while JPMorgan highlighted improving AI monetization and better advertising performance. Citi also said next week’s developers conference could provide a catalyst if Meta unveils compelling AI and hardware updates. Citi commentary on Meta’s upcoming event
• Positive Sentiment: New hardware and infrastructure initiatives could broaden Meta’s AI ecosystem. Meta reportedly plans to launch camera-free smart glasses this fall, while expanded use of proprietary AI chips could reduce reliance on Nvidia and potentially lower computing costs. Reuters article on camera-free smart glasses
• Neutral Sentiment: Management is defending a faster, company-led AI development strategy. CEO Mark Zuckerberg said Meta delayed its Muse AI agent to address safety concerns but opposed broad development slowdowns, favoring independent evaluators and internal safeguards.
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory and execution risks remain. BMO identified expanding age-verification requirements as a potential challenge, while new restrictions on youth-oriented advertising practices could increase Meta’s legal and compliance costs. Investors are also watching the company’s large AI infrastructure commitments, which could pressure free cash flow if advertising growth or AI utilization disappoints.
• Neutral Sentiment: Insider selling adds a limited cautionary signal. COO Javier Olivan sold shares worth roughly $1.0 million under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The transactions reduce his holdings but do not necessarily indicate a change in management’s outlook.

Meta Platforms Company Profile

Meta Platforms, Inc develops technologies that help people connect, communicate and build communities online. The company's principal products include Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp and Threads, which enable social networking, messaging, content sharing and digital communication.

Meta generates most of its business through advertising displayed across its family of apps. It also develops artificial intelligence technologies, business messaging tools and hardware and software through its Reality Labs division, including Quest virtual- and mixed-reality devices and related experiences.

The company was founded as Facebook in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg and was renamed Meta Platforms in 2021 to reflect its broader focus on building the metaverse.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.