Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Holdings Lowered by Atika Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• Atika Capital Management LLC reduced its position in Meta Platforms by 12.8%, owning 19,001 shares valued at approximately $10.95 million after selling 2,799 shares in the first quarter.
• Insider sales included CFO Susan J. Li offloading 18,332 shares for over $14 million, while COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares valued at around $400,675.
• Meta Platforms reported a strong earnings quarter with $7.14 EPS, exceeding estimates, and a revenue of $47.52 billion, reflecting a year-over-year increase of 21.6%.

Atika Capital Management LLC cut its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 12.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 19,001 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 2,799 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for about 1.5% of Atika Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Atika Capital Management LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $10,951,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Partners Capital Investment Group LLP lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 108.2% during the first quarter. Partners Capital Investment Group LLP now owns 19,235 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $11,087,000 after purchasing an additional 9,998 shares during the last quarter. Elevate Wealth Advisory Inc. bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the first quarter worth $653,000. Candriam S.C.A. lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 97.9% during the first quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 378,729 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $218,285,000 after purchasing an additional 187,309 shares during the last quarter. TFB Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 5.6% during the first quarter. TFB Advisors LLC now owns 4,142 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $2,387,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Knollwood Investment Advisory LLC lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.3% during the first quarter. Knollwood Investment Advisory LLC now owns 52,633 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $30,336,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META traded down $0.8830 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $753.9070. 4,920,521 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 15,165,154. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.89 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.97 and a quick ratio of 1.97. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $479.80 and a twelve month high of $796.25. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $730.31 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $656.98.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The social networking company reported $7.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.75 by $1.39. The company had revenue of $47.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $44.55 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 39.33% and a net margin of 39.99%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $5.16 earnings per share. Meta Platforms has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. Analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is 7.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on META shares. Rosenblatt Securities upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $846.00 to $918.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $775.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Bank of America upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $775.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $780.00 to $860.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $640.00 to $810.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $822.41.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 11,694 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $775.00, for a total value of $9,062,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer owned 1,799 shares in the company, valued at $1,394,225. This represents a 86.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 465 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $784.32, for a total value of $364,708.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 8,877 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,962,408.64. This trade represents a 4.98% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 313,803 shares of company stock valued at $235,276,424. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Meta Platforms

Meta Platforms, Inc engages in the development of products that enable people to connect and share with friends and family through mobile devices, personal computers, virtual reality headsets, and wearables worldwide. It operates in two segments, Family of Apps and Reality Labs. The Family of Apps segment offers Facebook, which enables people to share, discuss, discover, and connect with interests; Instagram, a community for sharing photos, videos, and private messages, as well as feed, stories, reels, video, live, and shops; Messenger, a messaging application for people to connect with friends, family, communities, and businesses across platforms and devices through text, audio, and video calls; and WhatsApp, a messaging application that is used by people and businesses to communicate and transact privately.