Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Sold by Comerica Bank

Comerica Bank lessened its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 3.9% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 413,985 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 16,679 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for about 1.1% of Comerica Bank’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest position. Comerica Bank’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $304,023,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 192,591,101 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $142,149,566,000 after purchasing an additional 1,532,568 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 86,925,674 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $64,158,971,000 after purchasing an additional 1,650,435 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.3% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 51,575,209 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $37,902,948,000 after purchasing an additional 682,768 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.7% during the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 39,247,690 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $28,823,375,000 after purchasing an additional 278,180 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the second quarter worth about $23,155,393,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $613.71 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.60, a current ratio of 2.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $653.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $677.91. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $479.80 and a 52-week high of $796.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.55 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.12, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.30.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The social networking company reported $8.88 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.16 by $0.72. The company had revenue of $59.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.33 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.61% and a net margin of 30.08%.The business’s revenue was up 23.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $8.02 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Investors of record on Monday, March 16th will be given a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is currently 8.94%.

Key Stories Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta is rolling out new Meta AI features for Facebook Marketplace (automated listing creation and pricing) that help monetize its ads/commerce funnel and show ongoing productization of AI. Meta AI Writes Listings and Sets Prices for Facebook Marketplace Sellers
• Positive Sentiment: Meta outlined an aggressive in?house chip roadmap (MTIA series) focused on generative AI inference — this could lower long?term inference costs and improve margins if deployed at scale. Meta Chip Roadmap Puts AI Inference And Costs In Sharper Focus
• Positive Sentiment: Several bullish takeaways: fund managers cite Meta’s cost discipline and scale as advantages, and some analysts/notes argue the stock is attractively valued among large cap AI beneficiaries. These views provide a counterweight to short?term AI execution concerns. Cuggino likes Meta for cost discipline
• Neutral Sentiment: Insider selling: COO Javier Olivan disclosed sales in early March (files show multiple transactions). Sizeable insider sales can draw attention but don’t necessarily signal company fundamentals. SEC filing – Olivan insider sale
• Neutral Sentiment: Regulatory scrutiny continues in the U.K. around child safety on platforms — a recurring policy risk that can affect product rollouts and compliance costs but is broadly anticipated by investors. UK watchdogs press Meta to block children
• Negative Sentiment: Avocado delay: Multiple outlets report Meta pushed the Avocado launch from this month to at least May after performance concerns, prompting investor worry about missed timelines and competitive positioning vs. Google/OpenAI. Meta Delays Rollout of New A.I. Model After Performance Concerns
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction & scrutiny: Reports highlight that the delay increases scrutiny of Meta’s multibillion?dollar AI investments and raises the risk of competitors pulling ahead, pressuring sentiment and the stock near term. Meta delays rollout of new AI model, NYT reports
• Negative Sentiment: Additional coverage frames the pause as a potential strategic cost — analysts and commentary ask whether Meta can afford to wait while rivals sprint ahead, amplifying short?term downside risk. Avocado on Ice: Can Meta Afford to Pause?

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

META has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $872.00 price objective (up from $830.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, January 29th. BNP Paribas Exane started coverage on Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, November 24th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $800.00 target price for the company. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $840.00 to $880.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $900.00 price target (up from $870.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, DA Davidson raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $844.44.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 2,461 shares of the stock in a transaction on Sunday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $639.77, for a total value of $1,574,473.97. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 12,108 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,746,335.16. This trade represents a 16.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 8,089 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $631.24, for a total value of $5,106,100.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer owned 2,841 shares in the company, valued at $1,793,352.84. The trade was a 74.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 161,446 shares of company stock worth $103,451,688 in the last three months. 13.61% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Meta Platforms 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.