Insider Selling: Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) CFO Sells 9,195 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Meta CFO Susan Li sold 9,195 shares on May 18 at an average price of $607.84, generating about $5.59 million. The sale cut her stake by 41.08% and was made under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan to cover tax withholding tied to vesting equity awards.
• Meta shares fell 1.4% to $602.61 in Tuesday trading. The stock remains well below its 52-week high of $796.25 but still reflects a large market cap of about $1.52 trillion.
• Recent earnings were strong, with Meta reporting $10.44 EPS on $56.31 billion in revenue, both above expectations. Analysts remain broadly positive, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $840.31.

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) CFO Susan Li sold 9,195 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $607.84, for a total transaction of $5,589,088.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 13,186 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,014,978.24. This trade represents a 41.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 1.4%

Meta Platforms stock traded down $8.60 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $602.61. The company had a trading volume of 11,716,804 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,909,861. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $520.26 and a 1-year high of $796.25. 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 company's 50 day simple moving average is $620.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $637.91. The stock has a market cap of $1.52 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 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, beating 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 firm had revenue of $56.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.56 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $6.43 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Evercore raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $900.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $930.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $840.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $910.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $1,015.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $840.31.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Auto Owners Insurance Co increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 76,587.7% in the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 105,292,277 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $69,502,379,000 after purchasing an additional 105,154,977 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth about $22,152,075,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 199,995,630 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $132,015,115,000 after purchasing an additional 7,269,279 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 488.1% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 5,466,595 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $3,608,445,000 after purchasing an additional 4,537,076 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 90,841,345 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $59,963,463,000 after purchasing an additional 4,395,763 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Key Meta Platforms News

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

• Negative Sentiment: Meta began laying off about 8,000 employees, or roughly 10% of its workforce, as part of a broader AI-first transformation. The move highlights rising restructuring costs and suggests more cuts could follow later this year. Meta Begins Laying Off 8,000 Employees Amid A.I. Transformation
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Meta is cutting jobs while ramping up AI investment have kept attention on margin pressure and the scale of the company’s AI spending bill, which some investors view as a near-term drag on earnings. Meta Moves 7,000 Workers Into AI Roles Ahead of Job Cuts
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta offered rival AI chatbot makers limited free access to WhatsApp in Europe before charging once usage limits are reached. The move could support platform engagement and developer adoption, but the financial impact is still unclear. Exclusive: Meta offers AI rival chatbots limited free WhatsApp access, sources say
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta also drew attention for new AI-related product and safety initiatives, including an incognito chat feature for WhatsApp’s AI assistant and new parental supervision tools, but these are not likely to move the stock in the near term. Meta Platforms (META) Launching Incognito Chat for WhatsApp AI Assistant

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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