Sands Capital Management LLC Sells 133,193 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Sands Capital Management cut its Meta Platforms stake by 9.6% in the fourth quarter, selling 133,193 shares but still holding 1,254,871 shares worth about $828.3 million.
• Several other institutional investors also adjusted their Meta positions, and overall hedge funds and other institutions own 79.91% of the company’s stock.
• Meta insiders have been selling shares too, including CFO Susan J. Li and insider Curtis J. Mahoney, with 39,170 shares sold by insiders over the last 90 days.

Sands Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 9.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,254,871 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 133,193 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 2.5% of Sands Capital Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Sands Capital Management LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $828,328,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. South Plains Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 8.0% during the 4th quarter. South Plains Financial Inc. now owns 2,611 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,723,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 10.8% during the fourth quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC now owns 7,799 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $5,148,000 after purchasing an additional 758 shares during the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 13.1% during the fourth quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 509,244 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $336,147,000 after purchasing an additional 58,922 shares during the period. Mufg Securities Americas Inc. lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Mufg Securities Americas Inc. now owns 58,673 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $38,729,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the period. Finally, Mariner LLC boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 1,467,617 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $968,896,000 after purchasing an additional 98,170 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 2,079 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $609.92, for a total value of $1,268,023.68. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,118 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $681,890.56. This trade represents a 65.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 9,195 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.84, for a total value of $5,589,088.80. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 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. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold a total of 39,170 shares of company stock valued at $24,218,565 in the last 90 days. 13.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

More Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta launched new Facebook AI Mode features that pull answers from public information across its apps, including Groups and Reels, which analysts say could create a major new revenue stream and improve engagement. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Options traders are showing bullish interest after Meta’s AI-fueled pop, suggesting investors are positioning for further upside tied to the new product rollout. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage highlighting Meta’s chip ambitions and broader AI strategy is reinforcing the view that its massive AI capex could eventually translate into greater control over infrastructure and better margins. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Several investor-commentary pieces pointed to long-term value creation and argued Meta’s valuation looks attractive versus its growth, but these were mainly opinion-driven rather than new company-specific catalysts. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are still weighing Meta’s huge AI spending, which some articles say could pressure profitability or even raise questions about future financing and dilution if the company keeps ramping investment. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Meta is also facing reputational and regulatory headwinds, including criticism over AI-unit working conditions, the unwind of its Manus deal, and a proposed UK social media ban for users under 16 that could weigh on future engagement. Article Title

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

META has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $775.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Bank of America lowered their price target on Meta Platforms from $885.00 to $820.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 20th. Wolfe Research lowered their price target on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 10th. KeyCorp reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $760.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reissued a "buy" rating and set a $1,015.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have issued a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $840.60.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

NASDAQ META opened at $593.48 on Tuesday. The business's fifty day moving average price is $621.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $635.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.50 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.57, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 2.35 and a quick ratio of 2.35. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $520.26 and a 1-year high of $796.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.67 by $3.77. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 36.93% and a net margin of 32.84%.The firm had revenue of $56.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $55.56 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $6.43 EPS. The company's revenue was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.63%.

About Meta Platforms

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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