Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) CAO Sells $2,002,514.40 in Stock

Key Points

• Meta CAO Aaron Anderson sold 3,240 shares at an average price of $618.06, generating approximately $2.0 million. The Rule 10b5-1 transaction reduced his ownership by 34.07%, leaving him with 6,271 shares.
• Meta shares recently traded near $613, with a market capitalization of about $1.56 trillion. The company’s latest quarterly revenue rose 28% year over year to $60.8 billion, although EPS of $6.18 fell short of analysts’ $7.19 estimate.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive view, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $785.22; institutional investors and hedge funds own approximately 79.91% of the stock.

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) CAO Aaron Anderson sold 3,240 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $618.06, for a total value of $2,002,514.40. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 6,271 shares in the company, valued at $3,875,854.26. This trade represents a 34.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of Meta Platforms stock traded down $3.29 on Tuesday, hitting $613.48. The company's stock had a trading volume of 18,862,702 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,826,875. The company has a market capitalization of $1.56 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.25. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $520.26 and a 1 year high of $790.80. 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 fifty day moving average price of $597.25 and a 200-day moving average price of $608.89.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $7.19 by ($1.01). Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 33.18% and a net margin of 29.83%.The business had revenue of $60.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $60.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $7.14 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. RHL Group LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Advantage Trust Co purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Philadelphia Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Axiom Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter worth $36,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta launched Muse, a personal AI agent that can connect with Facebook, Instagram and third-party services to perform tasks such as sending emails, booking travel, shopping and making payments. The product gives Meta a potential new consumer subscription and engagement platform, with free and paid tiers reportedly ranging from $20 to $100 per month. Meta launches AI agent that can access other apps to send emails, make payments
• Positive Sentiment: The release of Muse Spark 1.3, designed for coding and longer-running agentic tasks, is supporting the view that Meta’s substantial AI investment could eventually generate commercial returns. Bank of America reportedly continues to see substantial upside. Meta stock jumps 4% after Muse Spark 1.3
• Positive Sentiment: Meta and Panmnesia proposed a data-center architecture intended to link computing resources across an entire facility, highlighting Meta’s effort to build infrastructure for increasingly large AI models. One Chip, One Datacenter
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts and investors remain divided over Meta’s large AI infrastructure budget, reportedly reaching about $130 billion, with strong advertising growth helping fund the investment but raising the risk of lower near-term returns.
• Negative Sentiment: Muse’s ability to access sensitive information, send messages and make payments is intensifying concerns about privacy, security and reliability. The launch follows heightened scrutiny of Meta’s record on social-media safety. Meta pushes into personal AI agents as company faces public reckoning over privacy and safety
• Negative Sentiment: Meta also faces litigation alleging that facial-recognition technology was trained for its smart glasses, adding to regulatory and legal-overhang concerns. Meta sued over alleged facial recognition training for smart glasses
• Negative Sentiment: The company’s recently announced teen-safety settlements, potentially totaling about $18 billion, remain a material financial and reputational liability even as the agreement reduces some legal uncertainty.

Analyst Ratings Changes

META has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Monness Crespi & Hardt dropped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $890.00 to $730.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $830.00 to $780.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Scotiabank reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $600.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Evercore restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Meta Platforms from $835.00 to $640.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Four 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $785.22.

Meta Platforms Company Profile

Meta Platforms, Inc develops technologies that help people connect, communicate and build communities online. The company's principal products include Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp and Threads, which enable social networking, messaging, content sharing and digital communication.

Meta generates most of its business through advertising displayed across its family of apps. It also develops artificial intelligence technologies, business messaging tools and hardware and software through its Reality Labs division, including Quest virtual- and mixed-reality devices and related experiences.

The company was founded as Facebook in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg and was renamed Meta Platforms in 2021 to reflect its broader focus on building the metaverse.

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