Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Sold by Bowie Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• Bowie Capital Management LLC trimmed its stake in Meta by 6.4% in Q3, selling 10,991 shares and leaving 160,340 shares worth $117.75 million (Meta is 5.1% of the fund and its 7th-largest holding).
• Meta beat quarterly expectations, reporting $8.88 EPS vs. $8.16 expected and $59.89 billion in revenue (up 23.8% year-over-year), with analysts projecting roughly 26.7 EPS for the current year.
• Significant insider selling has occurred recently—insiders sold 161,446 shares worth $103.45 million over the past three months (including sales by COO Javier Olivan and CTO Andrew Bosworth), which could weigh on near-term sentiment.

Bowie Capital Management LLC lowered its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 6.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 160,340 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 10,991 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for 5.1% of Bowie Capital Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Bowie Capital Management LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $117,750,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Meta Platforms by 0.8% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 192,591,101 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $142,149,566,000 after acquiring an additional 1,532,568 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 86,925,674 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $64,158,971,000 after purchasing an additional 1,650,435 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.3% in the 2nd 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 purchasing an additional 682,768 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the second quarter worth $23,155,393,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.8% in the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 14,489,621 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $10,694,644,000 after purchasing an additional 262,550 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 0.1%

META stock opened at $654.86 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.66 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a 50-day moving average of $654.42 and a two-hundred day moving average of $679.16. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $479.80 and a 52-week high of $796.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.60 and a quick ratio of 2.60.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The social networking company reported $8.88 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $8.16 by $0.72. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.61% and a net margin of 30.08%.The business had revenue of $59.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.33 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $8.02 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 23.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be given a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is currently 8.94%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on META shares. KeyCorp cut their target price on Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $835.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 26th. Arete Research reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $900.00 price objective on Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, January 26th. TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $825.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $844.44.

Meta Platforms News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Rolled out a roadmap of four new in‑house AI chips to expand data‑center capacity and cut dependence on third‑party hardware — a move that should lower long‑term costs and support Meta’s AI scale and margins. Meta unveils plans for batch of in-house AI chips
• Positive Sentiment: Acquired Moltbook, a viral social network for AI agents, and brought its founders into Meta’s Superintelligence Labs — an inexpensive talent & capability win that reinforces Meta’s AI roadmap and content‑generation/testing capabilities. Meta acquires AI agent social network Moltbook
• Positive Sentiment: Launched AI‑powered anti‑scam tools across WhatsApp, Facebook and Messenger — a user‑safety boost that can protect engagement and advertiser confidence on its platforms. Meta rolls out new scam detection tools to Facebook, WhatsApp, and Messenger
• Neutral Sentiment: Street commentary (Evercore/Barron’s) suggests internet names including META may be oversold after AI worries and geopolitical risk — a catalyst that could attract value buyers but depends on macro sentiment. Amazon, Uber, and Other Internet Stocks Look Too Cheap After AI and Iran Worries
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: COO Javier Olivan sold multiple blocks of shares (hundreds of shares reported), trimming his position — a near‑term negative signal that can weigh on sentiment even if routine. SEC filing: Javier Olivan sales
• Negative Sentiment: Announced a 2–5% “location fee” for advertisers to cover some European digital taxes — could pressure ad rates/advertiser spend in affected markets and be a small drag on revenue growth. Meta to charge advertisers a fee to offset Europe's digital taxes
• Negative Sentiment: Dutch appeals court upheld a ruling forcing Meta to offer chronological feeds in the Netherlands — a regulatory loss that could affect engagement/personalization and set precedents for further restrictions. Dutch court upholds ruling forcing Meta to offer chronological feeds

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 2,461 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Sunday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $639.77, for a total value of $1,574,473.97. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 12,108 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,746,335.16. This trade represents a 16.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 8,089 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $631.24, for a total transaction of $5,106,100.36. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 2,841 shares in the company, valued at $1,793,352.84. This trade represents a 74.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 161,446 shares of company stock valued at $103,451,688 in the last three months. Company insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding META? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report).

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.