Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Sold by Bridgewater Advisors Inc.

Key Points

• Bridgewater Advisors cut its stake in Meta by 6.4% in Q4, selling 1,701 shares and now holding 25,014 shares worth about $15.33 million, making META its 24th-largest position (1.0% of holdings).
• Meta beat expectations for the quarter with EPS $8.88 (vs. $8.16 est.) and revenue of $59.89 billion (vs. $58.33B est.), a 23.8% year-over-year revenue increase and a 30.08% net margin.
• Insiders have been net sellers recently—166,117 shares (~$106.37 million) sold in the past 90 days including trades by the COO and a director under 10b5-1 plans—and the company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.525 per share.

Bridgewater Advisors Inc. reduced its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 6.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 25,014 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 1,701 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises 1.0% of Bridgewater Advisors Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 24th largest position. Bridgewater Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $15,333,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Westchester Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Dorato Capital Management acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth $62,000. PMV Capital Advisers LLC raised its position in Meta Platforms by 26.3% during the fourth quarter. PMV Capital Advisers LLC now owns 96 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 64.8% during the third quarter. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Finally, eCIO Inc. purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at $66,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

META opened at $659.15 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.67 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.05, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.31. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $517.50 and a twelve month high of $796.25. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $627.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $650.33. The company has a current ratio of 2.60, a quick ratio of 2.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The social networking company reported $8.88 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $8.16 by $0.72. The company had revenue of $59.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.33 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 30.08% and a return on equity of 38.61%. Meta Platforms's quarterly revenue was up 23.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $8.02 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th were given a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 16th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is 8.94%.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 580 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $667.00, for a total value of $386,860.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 3,847 shares in the company, valued at $2,565,949. This represents a 13.10% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing 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, COO Javier Olivan sold 926 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $680.09, for a total value of $629,763.34. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 9,631 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,549,946.79. This trade represents a 8.77% 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. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 166,117 shares of company stock valued at $106,367,778. Insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

Trending Headlines about Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street support: Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" and $850 price target and other firms (Deutsche Bank, Citizens) remain constructive, highlighting AI-driven ad upside and margin leverage. Guggenheim Reaffirms Buy Rating, $850 PT
• Positive Sentiment: Deutsche Bank and others emphasize AI investments could strengthen Meta’s core advertising product and lift monetization, supporting bullish price targets. This Is the Impact of AI on Meta Platforms' Core Advertising Business
• Positive Sentiment: Product and engagement catalysts — Threads added Live Chats and Meta Quest gained DirecTV streaming, which could help user engagement and new content monetization paths. Live Chats Are Now on Threads You Can Now Stream DirecTV on Your Meta Quest Headset
• Neutral Sentiment: Account and UX improvements: Meta is revamping its cross-app Meta Account system to streamline logins and device management — a product-level improvement with unclear near-term revenue impact. Meta Is Revamping Its Cross-App Management System
• Neutral Sentiment: Safety/parent tools: Meta added a feature letting parents see topics teens ask Meta AI about; reputationally positive but unlikely to move near-term revenue. Parents Can Now See What Their Kids Are Asking Meta AI About
• Negative Sentiment: Large workforce reduction: Meta will cut ~8,000 roles (10% of staff) and freeze hiring for ~6,000 open positions to "run more efficiently" and offset AI capex — the scale of the move signals heavy near-term restructuring and underscores how costly Meta’s AI buildout remains. Meta Prepares 8,000 Layoffs to Offset AI Infrastructure Investments
• Negative Sentiment: Employee-tracking controversy: Reports that Meta is logging employee keystrokes, clicks and mouse activity to train AI raise privacy/ethical concerns and potential regulatory scrutiny. Meta Is Tracking Employee Usage on Google, LinkedIn, Wikipedia
• Negative Sentiment: Legal and ESG pressures: New shareholder proposals, recent court rulings around teen addiction liability and a consumer suit over ad-related scams increase potential legal costs and reputational risk. Meta Verdict Poised to Shift Platform Liability Consumer Watchdog Group Files Suit
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: COO Javier Olivan disclosed multi-hundred-thousand-dollar share sales under a 10b5-1 plan, a data point some investors watch as a mild negative signal. SEC Filing: Javier Olivan Share Sales

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on META. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $710.00 to $730.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Citizens Jmp reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and issued a $900.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday. Wolfe Research lowered their price objective on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 10th. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $850.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reduced their target price on Meta Platforms from $1,144.00 to $1,015.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $837.09.

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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