Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Sold by Comerica Bank

Key Points

• Comerica Bank reduced its Meta stake by 5.6% in the fourth quarter, selling 22,982 shares and leaving it with 391,003 shares worth about $258.1 million.
• Meta posted stronger-than-expected Q1 results, reporting EPS of $10.44 versus estimates of $6.67 and revenue of $56.31 billion, up 33.1% year over year.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on Meta despite some price-target cuts, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average target price of about $840.31.

Comerica Bank trimmed its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 5.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 391,003 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 22,982 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 1.0% of Comerica Bank's portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Comerica Bank's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $258,097,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Westchester Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Key Capital Management INC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $48,000. Fairway Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 36.8% during the 4th quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 78 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Dorato Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $62,000. Finally, PMV Capital Advisers LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 26.3% during the 4th quarter. PMV Capital Advisers LLC now owns 96 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In related news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 580 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $667.00, for a total transaction of $386,860.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 3,847 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,565,949. This represents a 13.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 926 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $607.74, for a total transaction of $562,767.24. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 7,779 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,727,609.46. The trade was a 10.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 168,193 shares of company stock valued at $107,642,717. 13.61% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts remain bullish on Meta Platforms, with recent notes from firms like BofA and Erste Group lifting earnings estimates or price targets after strong Q1 results, reinforcing expectations for meaningful upside. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s AI push is drawing attention as the company reportedly works on AI agents and improved models like Muse Spark, which could support new products and future monetization opportunities. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentary pieces continue to frame Meta as an important AI and large-cap tech name, but these are mostly opinion-driven and do not add new fundamental information for the stock. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta was also mentioned in a deal roundup about acquiring Assured Robot Intelligence, but the report provided little detail, so the market impact is unclear. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Reports highlighting employee dissatisfaction and impending layoffs suggest Meta’s AI transformation is creating internal friction, while also reminding investors that the company’s AI ambitions come with higher costs. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Investor concern remains centered on Meta’s enormous 2026 capex plan, estimated at $125 billion to $145 billion, which is fueling fears that profitability could come under pressure before AI investments pay off. Article Title

Meta Platforms Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $609.63 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.35, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The company has a 50 day moving average of $627.67 and a 200-day moving average of $645.30. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $520.26 and a twelve month high of $796.25. The firm has a market cap of $1.54 trillion, a P/E ratio of 22.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.67 by $3.77. The business had revenue of $56.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.56 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.84% and a return on equity of 36.93%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $6.43 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Investors of record on Monday, March 16th were issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 16th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is currently 7.63%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on META shares. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $805.00 to $780.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $900.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Wolfe Research cut their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $835.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $815.00 to $830.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $840.31.

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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