Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Sold by Fisher Funds Management LTD

Key Points

• Fisher Funds Management reduced its Meta stake by 1.5%, selling 2,753 shares and retaining 179,034 shares valued at approximately $100.8 million. Institutional investors still own 79.91% of Meta’s outstanding stock.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish, with Meta receiving a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $785.32, despite some firms lowering their targets.
• Meta’s latest quarterly revenue rose 28% year over year to $60.8 billion, but earnings of $6.18 per share missed expectations. Insiders also sold shares worth roughly $22.1 million over the past three months, while the stock recently traded near $589.85.

Fisher Funds Management LTD decreased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 179,034 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 2,753 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up 2.9% of Fisher Funds Management LTD's portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Fisher Funds Management LTD's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $100,848,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. RHL Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth about $42,000. Axiom Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the first quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Bayban lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 100.0% in the 1st quarter. Bayban now owns 70 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on META. Benchmark started coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Meta Platforms from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $835.00 to $810.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their price target on Meta Platforms from $770.00 to $680.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Roth Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $785.32.

Insider Activity

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 1,258 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.00, for a total transaction of $754,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 1,517 shares of the company's stock, valued at $910,200. The trade was a 45.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $561.56, for a total value of $280,780.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 2,943 shares in the company, valued at $1,652,671.08. This represents a 14.52% decrease in their position. 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. Over the last three months, insiders sold 36,280 shares of company stock valued at $22,075,696. Company insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 0.9%

Meta Platforms stock opened at $589.85 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $520.26 and a 52 week high of $796.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 2.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.50 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $595.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $620.41.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $60.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.22 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 29.83% and a return on equity of 33.18%. Meta Platforms's revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $7.14 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.5 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th were given a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is presently 7.91%.

Meta Platforms News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain constructive on Meta’s long-term outlook, citing 28% revenue growth, resilient advertising demand and additional monetization opportunities in WhatsApp. Some commentary argues that the market is assigning little value to future AI and messaging revenue streams. Meta Has $27 Billion That Isn't On Its Balance Sheet
• Positive Sentiment: Meta released Glimmer, an open-weight AI model that users can download and run on their own hardware, supporting Mark Zuckerberg’s strategy of broadening access to AI. The move could strengthen developer adoption and Meta’s competitive position, although its financial payoff is uncertain. Meta's open AI, and a $250M deal gone very wrong
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta removed approximately 756,000 suspected under-16 accounts in Australia—462,000 from Instagram and 294,000 from Facebook—as it enforces the country’s youth social-media restrictions. The action demonstrates regulatory compliance but may raise moderation costs and reduce engagement among younger users. Meta says it has taken down 756,000 Australian teen accounts
• Neutral Sentiment: Institutional trading was mixed: Dodge & Cox increased its position by 1.47 million shares, while Sands Capital and Columbus Hill reduced their stakes. These transactions may influence sentiment but do not by themselves change Meta’s fundamentals. Dodge and Cox boosts Meta Platforms stake
• Negative Sentiment: A Ninth Circuit ruling removed a procedural barrier to more than 3,000 lawsuits alleging Meta’s product features harm young users. The court did not determine liability, but the decision allows the cases to proceed and adds potential litigation costs, damages and pressure to change platform design. How Serious Are Thousands of Addiction Lawsuits for Meta and Snap?
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned that Meta’s roughly $145 billion AI investment plan and major data-center projects could produce diminishing returns, compress margins and weigh on free cash flow before monetization catches up. Meta: Diminishing Q2 CapEx ROI Is Alarming
• Negative Sentiment: Meta COO Javier Olivan disclosed additional sales under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, while several funds also trimmed holdings. Although planned insider sales are not necessarily bearish, they can add to near-term selling pressure. Meta COO insider stock sale

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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