Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Sold by Hardman Johnston Global Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Hardman Johnston Global Advisors cut its stake in Meta by 51.7%, selling 23,117 shares and leaving 21,605 shares valued at about $14.26 million per its latest 13F filing.
• Insiders sold a total of 164,562 shares worth roughly $105.31 million last quarter, including CFO Susan J. Li's sale of 56,571 shares (~$36.47M), signalling notable insider liquidity.
• Meta beat Q results (EPS $8.88 vs $8.16 expected; revenue $59.89B, +23.8%) while advancing AI strategy via a Broadcom chip partnership and preparing roughly 10% layoffs, combining strong financials with near‑term execution risks.

Hardman Johnston Global Advisors LLC lowered its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 51.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 21,605 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 23,117 shares during the quarter. Hardman Johnston Global Advisors LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $14,261,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.9% in 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 acquiring an additional 1,650,435 shares during the period. Capital World Investors grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 39,247,690 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $28,823,375,000 after acquiring an additional 278,180 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 17,153,754 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $12,597,374,000 after acquiring an additional 142,229 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 14,332,168 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $10,525,258,000 after acquiring an additional 558,792 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 13,619,341 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $10,001,772,000 after acquiring an additional 481,276 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 56,571 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $644.70, for a total transaction of $36,471,323.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 8,089 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $631.24, for a total value of $5,106,100.36. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 2,841 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,793,352.84. This 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 164,562 shares of company stock worth $105,310,238 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 2.6%

Shares of META opened at $670.91 on Tuesday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $479.80 and a 52-week high of $796.25. The company has a quick ratio of 2.60, a current ratio of 2.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The firm's fifty day moving average is $627.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $650.39. The stock has a market cap of $1.70 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.31.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The social networking company reported $8.88 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $8.02 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 23.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Stockholders 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 was Monday, March 16th. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is currently 8.94%.

More Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta expanded its AI infrastructure strategy by partnering with Broadcom to develop custom AI chips, a move investors view as reducing dependence on NVIDIA and potentially lowering long‑term AI costs. The Meta‑Broadcom AI Chip Deal
• Positive Sentiment: Performance divergence vs. Alphabet highlights Meta’s stronger recent investor returns and market leadership in ad recovery and AI monetization, supporting a bullish narrative on share appreciation. Meta vs. Alphabet: One Just Handed Investors a 40% Return
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts continue to call Meta a momentum buy after strong app metrics and downloads; Barclays reaffirmed a Buy and other outlets highlight long‑term momentum, which helps underpin demand for the shares. Meta Gets Analyst Approval After Record App Downloads
• Neutral Sentiment: Bank of America trimmed its price target to $820 from $885 but kept a Buy rating — a modest downgrade to upside while signaling confidence in Meta’s ad and AI positioning. BofA Trims Meta Price Target to $820
• Neutral Sentiment: Multiple pre‑earnings writeups and fund‑level analyses (Rowan Street Capital, InsiderMonkey pieces) are increasing investor attention ahead of results — this raises volatility but not a clear directional signal. Rowan Street Capital’s Analysis on Meta
• Negative Sentiment: Meta is preparing a large round of layoffs beginning May 20 (reported as ~10% of headcount), which signals cost pressure from rising AI infrastructure spending and raises near‑term execution risks and employee disruption. Meta Prepares for "May 20" Layoffs
• Negative Sentiment: An SEC filing shows a Meta director sold about $386,860 in stock; insider sales can create short‑term selling pressure or signal portfolio rebalancing concerns. Director Sells $386,860 in Stock
• Negative Sentiment: Competition is intensifying as Apple tests AI‑powered smart glasses — a credible rival in the AR hardware race that could pressure future device monetization. How Apple Plans to Compete with Meta In Smart Glasses

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on META shares. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $885.00 to $820.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $820.00 to $805.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Evercore lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $810.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $836.30.

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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