Susan Li Sells 2,127 Shares of Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Stock

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) CFO Susan Li sold 2,127 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Saturday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $689.85, for a total transaction of $1,467,310.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 15,347 shares in the company, valued at $10,587,127.95. This trade represents a 12.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of META stock opened at $546.03 on Thursday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $520.26 and a 12 month high of $790.80. The stock has a market cap of $1.39 trillion, a P/E ratio of 20.57, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a current ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $594.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $617.08.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.19 by ($1.01). The business had revenue of $60.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $60.22 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 33.18% and a net margin of 29.83%.The firm’s revenue was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $7.14 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th were 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 was Monday, June 15th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.91%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 17.4% in the 1st quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC now owns 18,000 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $10,299,000 after acquiring an additional 2,670 shares in the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 15.7% in the fourth quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 133,798 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $88,319,000 after purchasing an additional 18,169 shares during the period. WMS Group LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth approximately $876,000. Consolidated Investment Group LLC increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 61.2% during the 4th quarter. Consolidated Investment Group LLC now owns 7,900 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $5,215,000 after purchasing an additional 3,000 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Meta Platforms by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 199,995,630 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $132,015,115,000 after purchasing an additional 7,269,279 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on META shares. Scotiabank restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $600.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Susquehanna cut their price objective on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $650.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Roth Capital restated a “buy” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Citizens Jmp lowered their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $770.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $785.00 price target (down from $800.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $785.32.

Trending Headlines about Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s AI investments are showing measurable benefits: second-quarter revenue increased 28% year over year to $60.8 billion, while AI-driven ad ranking reportedly lifted clicks and conversions. Advantage+ reached a $75 billion annual revenue run rate, supporting the argument that AI can improve monetization and eventually offset heavy infrastructure spending. Meta’s AI Payoff Has Already Begun
• Positive Sentiment: Some analysts and institutional investors remain constructive, viewing the recent selloff as excessive and citing future margin expansion, WhatsApp monetization and additional AI businesses as potential upside drivers. Meta also remains a major holding among several large investment firms. Meta’s Dip Offers A 30% Upside Potential
• Neutral Sentiment: Options traders are reportedly using range-bound strategies, indicating that markets may expect elevated volatility but no immediate decisive move while the legal proceedings unfold. Meta’s legal troubles has options traders eyeing the jade lizard
• Neutral Sentiment: CFO Susan Li sold 2,127 shares to cover tax withholding tied to vested equity awards. Because the transaction was described as tax-related rather than discretionary, it is unlikely to materially change the investment thesis. Susan Li Sells Meta Shares
• Negative Sentiment: The central market overhang is the landmark federal child-safety trial involving 29 states. Prosecutors allege Facebook and Instagram were deliberately designed to encourage addictive use among children, while former safety personnel have testified that Meta ignored or minimized internal warnings. A loss could lead to substantial penalties, product changes, restrictions on youth engagement and follow-on litigation, potentially threatening user activity and advertising revenue. Former Meta engineer resumes testimony
• Negative Sentiment: Privacy criticism surrounding Meta’s smart glasses, including workplace restrictions and reports of people being recorded without consent, creates reputational and adoption risks for the company’s wearables strategy. Meta Glasses privacy concerns

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.