Key Points
- CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 8,089 Meta shares at an average price of $631.24 for about $5.11 million, reducing his stake by 74.01% to 2,841 shares (worth ~$1.79 million).
- Meta beat Q4 expectations with EPS of $8.88 (vs. $8.16 est.) and revenue of $59.89 billion (vs. $58.33 billion), with revenue up 23.8% year‑over‑year as AI-driven ad efficiency strengthened results.
- The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.525 per share (annualized $2.10), with an ex‑dividend/record date of March 16 and payment on March 26, implying a ~0.3% yield.
Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) 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 transaction of $5,106,100.36. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.
Meta Platforms Stock Up 1.7%
Meta Platforms stock opened at $655.66 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.60 and a quick ratio of 2.60. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $479.80 and a fifty-two week high of $796.25. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $656.67 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $690.12. The firm has a market cap of $1.66 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.28.
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The social networking company reported $8.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.16 by $0.72. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.61% and a net margin of 30.08%.The company had revenue of $59.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.33 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $8.02 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 23.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.
Meta Platforms Announces Dividend
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Investors of record on Monday, March 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is currently 8.94%.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
META has been the topic of a number of research reports. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Citizens Jmp reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $900.00 price target (up previously from $750.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Citigroup restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $800.00 price objective (up from $770.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $860.00 target price (up previously from $750.00) on shares of Meta Platforms 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's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $844.29.
View Our Latest Stock Analysis on META
Key Meta Platforms News
Here are the key news stories impacting Meta Platforms this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Secured multiyear GPU/CPU and codesign deal with NVIDIA that locks supply and a roadmap (Rubin/Vera, confidential computing) — this makes Meta’s AI rollout and large‑scale personalization (e.g., WhatsApp agents) more credible and is a primary driver of investor buying. Read More.
- Positive Sentiment: Latest results and marketing metrics show AI is improving ad efficiency — Q4 revenue and EPS beat and stronger ad metrics support the thesis that AI can monetize engagement and help justify infrastructure spend. Read More.
- Positive Sentiment: Large institutional/activist positioning (including Bill Ackman / Pershing Square and other funds adding stakes) is providing conviction behind the rally and reduces short‑term supply risk. Read More.
- Neutral Sentiment: Horizon Worlds is being repositioned to mobile and explicitly decoupled from Quest VR — this reduces near‑term execution risk for Reality Labs but also signals less near‑term upside if VR hardware adoption stalls. Read More.
- Neutral Sentiment: Product/ecosystem updates (revived smartwatch plans; third‑party "Made for Meta" integrations like Virtuix) expand the device roadmap but are unlikely to move core ad revenue near term. Read More.
- Negative Sentiment: Very large 2026 CapEx guidance (~$115–$135B) raises real margin and ROIC risk — if AI monetization lags, the spending could compress returns and leave Meta exposed to depreciating infrastructure. Read More.
- Negative Sentiment: Notable insider selling (COO, CFO and at least one director disclosed multi‑trade sales) can add short‑term supply and raises questions about timing of personal liquidity events. Read More.
- Negative Sentiment: Ongoing legal and child‑safety scrutiny (Zuckerberg testimony, PTA distancing, and public reporting on content/encryption tradeoffs) is an overhang that could affect user engagement, regulatory costs or ad targeting over time. Read More.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms
Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at $22,152,075,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 73,443.1% during the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,417,003 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $6,212,506,000 after purchasing an additional 8,405,558 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 199,995,630 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $132,015,115,000 after buying an additional 7,269,279 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 488.1% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 5,466,595 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $3,608,445,000 after buying an additional 4,537,076 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 90,841,345 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $59,963,463,000 after buying an additional 4,395,763 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
About Meta Platforms
(
Get Free Report)
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.
Further Reading
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