Key Points
- Director Robert Kimmitt sold 580 shares under a pre‑arranged Rule 10b5‑1 plan on April 15 at an average price of $667, generating $386,860 and trimming his stake by 13.1% to 3,847 shares (≈$2.57M).
- Strong quarterly results and AI momentum: Meta beat estimates with $8.88 EPS and $59.89B revenue (+23.8% YoY), while expanding AI infrastructure partnerships—factors behind analyst upgrades and a consensus "Moderate Buy" with an average target of about $837.72.
- Meta recently initiated a $0.525 quarterly dividend (annualized $2.10, yield 0.3%) but faces near‑term headwinds including a planned ~10% workforce reduction and potential EU regulatory measures that could affect WhatsApp AI monetization.
Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) Director Robert Kimmitt sold 580 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $667.00, for a total transaction of $386,860.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 3,847 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,565,949. The trade was a 13.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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.
Meta Platforms Trading Up 1.7%
Meta Platforms stock opened at $688.55 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $627.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $651.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.74 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.30, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 2.60 and a current ratio of 2.60. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $479.80 and a 52 week high of $796.25.
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 30.08% and a return on equity of 38.61%. The firm had revenue of $59.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.33 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $8.02 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 23.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.
Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th were issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 16th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.94%.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms
A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Cora Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Cora Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,155 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,233,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Berman McAleer LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 5.3% during the 1st quarter. Berman McAleer LLC now owns 1,796 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,027,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 34.1% during the 1st quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,785 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $4,454,000 after purchasing an additional 1,980 shares in the last quarter. Cache Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 42.8% in the first quarter. Cache Advisors LLC now owns 48,213 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $27,584,000 after purchasing an additional 14,458 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc. raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 15.1% in the first quarter. Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc. now owns 7,791 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $4,457,000 after purchasing an additional 1,025 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Key Meta Platforms News
Here are the key news stories impacting Meta Platforms this week:
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
Several research firms have commented on META. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $930.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $910.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Pivotal Research dropped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $930.00 to $910.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $856.00 to $765.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $900.00 price target (up from $870.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $837.72.
Check Out Our Latest Analysis on META
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.
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