Curtis Mahoney Sells 1,559 Shares of Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Stock

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) insider Curtis Mahoney sold 1,559 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $558.00, for a total transaction of $869,922.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,957 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,092,006. This represents a 44.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 0.0%

• Meta Platform's Legal Issues Could Become Much More Than A Q2 Earnings Headache

NASDAQ META opened at $545.83 on Friday. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $593.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $615.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 2.23. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $520.26 and a twelve month high of $790.80. The stock has a market cap of $1.39 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.56, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.25.

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Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $7.19 by ($1.01). The business had revenue of $60.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $60.22 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 29.83% and a return on equity of 33.18%. Meta Platforms's revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $7.14 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.5 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

• The Trade Desk’s Earnings Miss Raises a Bigger Question About Its AI Future

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th were given a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is presently 7.91%.

Trending Headlines about Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta launched Pocket in the United States, an AI-powered app that allows users to create and share interactive games using text prompts. The product could increase engagement and broaden Meta’s consumer AI ecosystem. Meta brings Pocket to US users
• Positive Sentiment: Meta introduced a Mac app for Meta AI featuring system-wide dictation and the ability to answer questions about a user’s screen. Analysts also see potential for Meta’s AI investments to create substantial future revenue, supporting the long-term growth outlook. Meta AI launches Mac app
• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s advertising business continues to show strong operating momentum. Recent results included 28% year-over-year revenue growth to $60.8 billion, while AI-driven improvements reportedly lifted ad clicks and conversions. These trends support the argument that AI spending is already improving monetization. Meta AI payoff analysis
• Neutral Sentiment: CTO Andrew Bosworth, CFO Susan Li and insider Curtis Mahoney sold approximately $10.3 million of META shares in aggregate. The transactions were executed under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans, limiting their value as a discretionary signal, though the concentrated selling may still weigh on sentiment. Meta insider transaction filing
• Negative Sentiment: A major trial brought by California and 28 other states is intensifying. Former employee testimony alleged that some safety tools were “designed to fail” and that Facebook and Instagram’s features exposed young users to harm. An adverse outcome could lead to significant penalties, product changes, regulatory restrictions and pressure on engagement and advertising monetization. Former employee testifies about Meta safety tools
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are also concerned that elevated AI infrastructure spending will reduce second-half free cash flow. Those concerns are amplified by Meta’s recent earnings-per-share miss and reports that potential legal liabilities could reach extremely large sums. Meta trial adds risk to stock

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

• Meta and Tesla Are Rebounding From Oversold Levels—Now What?

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $800.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Roth Capital reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Benchmark assumed coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $725.00 price objective (down from $825.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $815.00 to $725.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $785.32.

Check Out Our Latest Research Report on Meta Platforms

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. RHL Group LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Advantage Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the second quarter worth about $28,000. Philadelphia Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Axiom Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter worth about $36,000. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

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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