Manning & Napier Advisors LLC Sells 18,518 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Manning & Napier Advisors reduced its Meta stake by 5%, selling 18,518 shares and retaining 348,817 shares valued at approximately $196.5 million. Institutional investors collectively own 79.91% of Meta’s outstanding stock.
• Meta insiders have also sold shares, including CFO Susan Li and Christopher Cox, with insiders selling 81,758 shares worth about $51.2 million over the past 90 days. The transactions were conducted under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans.
• Wall Street remains broadly positive, with Meta carrying a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $788.88. The company reported 28% year-over-year revenue growth but missed quarterly EPS estimates, while declaring a $0.525-per-share dividend.

Manning & Napier Advisors LLC decreased its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 5.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 348,817 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 18,518 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up about 2.5% of Manning & Napier Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $196,485,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Auto Owners Insurance Co boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 76,587.7% during the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 105,292,277 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $69,502,379,000 after purchasing an additional 105,154,977 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 52,806,712 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $34,734,628,000 after purchasing an additional 878,396 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth about $22,152,075,000. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in Meta Platforms by 14.6% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 21,038,035 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $12,036,491,000 after purchasing an additional 2,673,494 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 18,200,469 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $12,013,948,000 after purchasing an additional 1,046,715 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 9,196 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $550.61, for a total transaction of $5,063,409.56. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 13,186 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,260,343.46. This trade represents a 41.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $650.28, for a total value of $13,005,600.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 244,516 shares in the company, valued at approximately $159,003,864.48. This represents a 7.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 81,758 shares of company stock valued at $51,214,020. Corporate insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on META. Wolfe Research reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $700.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. BNP Paribas Exane started coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued an "outperform" rating for the company. Phillip Securities raised shares of Meta Platforms to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Finally, Citizens Jmp dropped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $770.00 and set a "market outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $788.88.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of Meta Platforms stock opened at $665.75 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 2.23 and a quick ratio of 2.23. The company has a market cap of $1.70 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.25. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $606.33 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $609.79. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $520.26 and a fifty-two week high of $790.80.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.19 by ($1.01). The company had revenue of $60.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $60.22 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 33.18% and a net margin of 29.83%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $7.14 EPS. Analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 27.93 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 28th. Investors of record on Monday, September 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 21st. 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’s Muse personal AI agent reached No. 1 on Apple’s U.S. free-app chart, surpassing ChatGPT roughly one week after launch. Its ability to handle shopping, bookings, email and phone calls could give Meta a significant consumer-AI growth platform and strengthen the case for future subscriptions or commerce revenue. Meta's Muse tops Apple's US free app chart
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America said Meta’s internally developed MTIA AI chips could save approximately $8.5 billion in 2027 by reducing reliance on third-party processors. Custom silicon could improve the economics of Meta’s expanding AI infrastructure over time. Meta Can Save $8.5 Billion in 2027 by Using Its Own MTIA Chips
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support and upcoming product announcements remain potential catalysts. Rosenblatt reiterated a Buy rating, while investors are looking ahead to Meta Connect on September 23 for additional AI, glasses and subscription details. Meta Earns Buy Rating from Rosenblatt Securities
• Neutral Sentiment: Muse’s early popularity is encouraging, but analysts disagree on its financial impact. The generous free tier may accelerate adoption while delaying revenue and increasing computing costs; consumer distrust of Meta and the need to provide sensitive account data could also limit paid conversion. Meta’s Muse Agent Has Wall Street Divided on Its AI Potential
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are taking profits after META rose roughly 23%–24% over the past month. Valuation and expectations have risen quickly, increasing sensitivity to any evidence that AI spending will not generate near-term earnings growth.
• Negative Sentiment: Meta’s AI investment program is placing significant pressure on cash flow. Articles highlighted a more than 90% decline in free cash flow as capital expenditures rise, raising concerns about the payback period for data centers, chips and other infrastructure. Meta Versus Oracle: AI Capex Payback Velocity
• Negative Sentiment: Legal and reputational pressure is increasing. A German court held Meta liable for fraudulent third-party ads, while regulators and its Oversight Board criticized safeguards against deepfakes and nonconsensual filming involving its smart glasses. These issues could increase compliance costs and threaten user trust. German Court Rules Meta Liable for Fake Ads
• Negative Sentiment: Chief Product Officer Christopher Cox sold 20,000 shares worth approximately $13.5 million under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. The planned nature reduces the signal, but the sale may still weigh modestly on sentiment. SEC Insider Trading Filing

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.

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