Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Shares Down 4.8% – Time to Sell?

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)’s share price fell 4.8% on Monday. The stock traded as low as $713.19 and last traded at $715.62. 27,599,422 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 57% from the average daily volume of 17,527,525 shares. The stock had previously closed at $751.66.

Trending Headlines about Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Enterprise AI expansion: Meta launched the Meta Enterprise Platform, offering businesses and developers access to Muse, Meta Business Agent, Muse API and Muse Code. The company hired MongoDB CEO CJ Desai to lead the initiative, signaling a push to generate revenue from its substantial AI infrastructure spending. Meta launches enterprise AI platform
• Positive Sentiment: Advertising and AI adoption remain strong: Analysts report that Meta’s AI tools are improving ad engagement, clicks and conversions as advertisers adopt them across Facebook and Instagram. Muse’s rapid user growth and its No. 1 ranking on the U.S. App Store could help expand future monetization. Meta boosts ad engagement with AI
• Positive Sentiment: Higher analyst target: Monness Crespi & Hardt raised its Meta price target from $730 to $830 and maintained a buy rating, citing potential upside from AI adoption, enterprise products and improved operating leverage. Meta price target raised
• Neutral Sentiment: Competitive implications: Meta’s enterprise platform pressured shares of software companies such as Salesforce, ServiceNow and MongoDB, highlighting the opportunity to challenge established vendors but also the scale of competition Meta is entering.
• Negative Sentiment: Privacy and legal concerns: Reports that Muse allegedly exposed a user’s address to a Facebook Marketplace buyer, along with claims of access to private messages, are renewing concerns about safety and data handling. Meta also lost a New Mexico jury verdict involving Facebook data practices. Meta Muse privacy incident
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and spending risks: Meta has gained roughly 30% during September, increasing profit-taking risk. Investors are also watching whether massive AI data-center investments produce sufficient commercial returns, while congressional scrutiny of AI tax subsidies adds regulatory uncertainty.

Analyst Ratings Changes

META has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Loop Capital raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $740.00 to $955.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $680.00 to $860.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $770.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday. BNP Paribas Exane cut their price objective on Meta Platforms from $955.00 to $855.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Benchmark restated a “hold” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-four have assigned a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $787.86.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $1.82 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.25. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $615.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $612.83. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.19 by ($1.01). Meta Platforms had a net margin of 29.83% and a return on equity of 33.18%. The firm had revenue of $60.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $60.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $7.14 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 27.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.5250 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 21st. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.91%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Aaron Anderson sold 3,240 shares of the company’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 transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 6,271 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,875,854.26. This represents a 34.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Also, insider Christopher Cox sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $712.76, for a total transaction of $28,510,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 184,516 shares in the company, valued at approximately $131,515,624.16. This represents a 17.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 123,333 shares of company stock valued at $80,795,845. 13.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Auto Owners Insurance Co grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 76,587.7% during 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 in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at about $22,152,075,000. Corient Private Wealth LP raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 723.1% in the second quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 8,801,764 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $4,957,946,000 after purchasing an additional 7,732,446 shares in the last quarter. Jupiter Topco LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the second quarter worth about $2,948,486,000. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 488.1% during the fourth 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 period. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Meta Platforms

Meta Platforms, Inc is a technology company that develops social networking, messaging, virtual and augmented reality, and artificial intelligence products. The company operates a global family of apps that includes Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp and Threads, enabling users to connect, communicate, share content and discover communities.

Meta generates most of its business through digital advertising displayed across its platforms. Its products serve individuals, creators, businesses and organizations in markets around the world, while its advertising tools help businesses reach audiences based on factors such as interests, activity and demographics.

Through its Reality Labs division, Meta develops virtual and augmented reality hardware, software and services, including the Meta Quest line of headsets and related experiences.