Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Sold by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Key Points

• Thrivent Financial for Lutherans cut its Meta Platforms stake by 12.3% in the fourth quarter, selling 204,945 shares and ending with 1,461,930 shares worth about $965.2 million. Meta still ranked as one of its largest holdings.
• Meta insiders have also been selling shares, including COO Javier Olivan and CFO Susan J. Li under pre-arranged 10b5-1 plans to cover tax withholding from equity awards. Insiders sold a combined 151,173 shares worth about $95.9 million over the last 90 days.
• Operationally, Meta posted strong quarterly results with EPS of $10.44 versus $6.67 expected and revenue up 33.1% year over year to $56.31 billion. The company is also drawing attention for AI-focused restructuring, a new “Forum” app, and ongoing legal risks such as the Texas lawsuit against Meta and WhatsApp.

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lessened its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 12.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,461,930 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 204,945 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 1.7% of Thrivent Financial for Lutherans' holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned approximately 0.06% of Meta Platforms worth $965,200,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of META. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 34,551 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $20,230,000 after buying an additional 570 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,456 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $5,537,000 after buying an additional 875 shares during the period. Headwater Capital Co Ltd increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 294.7% in the 1st quarter. Headwater Capital Co Ltd now owns 150,000 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $86,454,000 after buying an additional 112,000 shares during the period. Dymon Asia Capital Singapore PTE. LTD. bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter valued at $213,000. Finally, Capital & Planning LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter valued at $322,000. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 837 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $609.35, for a total transaction of $510,025.95. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 14,660 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,933,071. This represents a 5.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 9,195 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.84, for a total transaction of $5,589,088.80. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,186 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,014,978.24. This represents a 41.08% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold a total of 151,173 shares of company stock valued at $95,910,299 in the last 90 days. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Trending Headlines about Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta launched a standalone “Forum” app for Facebook Groups, signaling a new product push that could deepen user engagement and add pressure to competitors like Reddit. Meta quietly launches a new Reddit-like app called Forum
• Positive Sentiment: Meta is cutting jobs and shifting resources toward AI, which investors may view as an efficiency move that supports long-term profit margins and keeps the company focused on its biggest growth area. Meta Cuts 8,000 Jobs, Boosts AI Team: What This Means for Employees
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta also settled a school-district lawsuit over alleged social media addiction harms, removing one legal overhang, though the broader regulatory and litigation risk around its platforms remains. Texas sues Meta, WhatsApp over encryption privacy claims
• Neutral Sentiment: Other headlines around Meta’s dual-class control structure, insider share sales, and broader AI spending debate are adding to the narrative, but they are less likely to drive the stock on their own than the new app launch and workforce reshaping.
• Negative Sentiment: The Texas attorney general’s lawsuit against Meta and WhatsApp over encryption and privacy claims adds another legal risk for investors to monitor. Google, Meta, TikTok face EU consumer complaints about handling of financial scams
• Negative Sentiment: Competition concerns are also in focus after Meta’s Forum app appeared to pressure Reddit shares, reinforcing worries that Meta’s scale lets it copy or crowd out rival social platforms.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

META opened at $610.26 on Monday. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $617.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $636.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.35. 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 price-to-earnings ratio of 22.18, a PEG ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.67 by $3.77. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.84% and a return on equity of 36.93%. The business had revenue of $56.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.56 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $6.43 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on META shares. Pivotal Research lowered their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $930.00 to $910.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Raymond James Financial lowered their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $800.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 26th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Meta Platforms from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $840.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $810.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $840.19.

Meta Platforms Company 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.

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.