Sapient Capital LLC Sells 1,586 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Sapient Capital LLC trimmed its Meta Platforms stake by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, selling 1,586 shares and leaving it with 172,127 shares valued at about $114.6 million.
• Meta insiders also sold stock recently: CTO Andrew Bosworth and CFO Susan J. Li both sold shares under pre-arranged 10b5-1 plans to cover tax withholding tied to equity vesting.
• Meta reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $10.44 and revenue of $56.31 billion, both ahead of analyst expectations, while analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with a consensus price target of $840.19.

Sapient Capital LLC reduced its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 0.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 172,127 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 1,586 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises 1.6% of Sapient Capital LLC's holdings, making the stock its 11th largest position. Sapient Capital LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $114,576,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Passumpsic Savings Bank bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,851,000. North Dakota State Investment Board bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at about $49,437,000. Rossmore Private Capital raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 63.0% in the 4th quarter. Rossmore Private Capital now owns 8,585 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $5,667,000 after acquiring an additional 3,317 shares during the period. Roberts Glore & Co. Inc. IL raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 8.9% in the 4th quarter. Roberts Glore & Co. Inc. IL now owns 4,262 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $2,813,000 after acquiring an additional 350 shares during the period. Finally, Abacus Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 546.2% in the 4th quarter. Abacus Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,956 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $3,271,000 after acquiring an additional 4,189 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,847 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $607.83, for a total transaction of $4,769,642.01. Following the sale, the chief technology officer owned 414 shares in the company, valued at approximately $251,641.62. This trade represents a 94.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 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 that occurred on 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 owned 13,186 shares in the company, valued at $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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 95,471 shares of company stock worth $60,616,955. Corporate insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

NASDAQ META opened at $612.34 on Wednesday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $1.55 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.25. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $617.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $636.70. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.67 by $3.77. The business had revenue of $56.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.56 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.84% and a return on equity of 36.93%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $6.43 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

META has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Arete Research reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $835.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $725.00 target price (down from $825.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $880.00 to $920.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $750.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Four 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.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $840.19.

Trending Headlines about Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Investors are viewing Meta’s massive AI spending more favorably as analysts and market commentators argue the AI boom could last longer than expected, potentially strengthening the company’s competitive position. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Several recent pieces continue to frame Meta as a top long-term growth stock and a stock drawing increased investor attention, which can help reinforce bullish sentiment around the name. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta is making a major workforce reduction in Washington state as part of a broader AI-driven restructuring, which may improve efficiency over time but also signals a significant internal reset. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: The company is also getting additional investor and public scrutiny around AI, jobs, and capital allocation, with commentary suggesting the market is still debating whether Meta’s heavy AI investment will pay off. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: JLens is urging shareholders to back a proposal demanding more transparency on content moderation, highlighting ongoing governance and brand-safety concerns ahead of the annual meeting. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear Meta’s challenge to Vermont’s social media addiction lawsuit, keeping legal exposure alive in a case centered on alleged harms to young users. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Meta also faces a new lawsuit from Santa Clara County over allegedly scam-related AI ads, adding another regulatory and reputational overhang tied to ad practices and user safety. Article Title

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.

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