Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Sold by Sapient Capital LLC

Sapient Capital LLC lowered its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 23.5% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 131,670 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 40,457 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for 1.1% of Sapient Capital LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Sapient Capital LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $75,290,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. First National Bank Sioux Falls raised its position in Meta Platforms by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. First National Bank Sioux Falls now owns 2,001 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,321,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. raised its position in Meta Platforms by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. now owns 984 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $649,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.3% in the second quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. now owns 1,075 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $794,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Arcataur Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Arcataur Capital Management LLC now owns 1,736 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,146,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Acorn Creek Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Acorn Creek Capital LLC now owns 2,118 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,398,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on META. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $830.00 to $780.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Bank of America lowered their target price on Meta Platforms from $835.00 to $810.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Meta Platforms from $815.00 to $725.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Finally, DA Davidson cut their price target on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $700.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $789.95.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In related news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.75, for a total transaction of $303,875.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 3,443 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,092,483.25. This represents a 12.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 837 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.85, for a total value of $508,770.45. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 6,290 shares in the company, valued at $3,823,376.50. This trade represents a 11.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 37,770 shares of company stock worth $23,034,051 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

NASDAQ:META opened at $590.24 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 2.23 and a quick ratio of 2.23. The firm has a market cap of $1.49 trillion, a PE ratio of 22.23, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.25. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $600.76 and a 200-day simple moving average of $622.55. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $520.26 and a 1-year high of $796.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced 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 firm had revenue of $60.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $7.14 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.99 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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

Key Stories Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: AI spending narrative improves: Strong earnings from Amazon, Microsoft, Alphabet and other cloud companies suggest enterprise AI demand remains robust, supporting the case for continued infrastructure investment and potentially greater monetization of Meta’s AI tools and recommendation systems. Amazon Just Flipped the AI Capex Narrative
• Positive Sentiment: Valuation attracts buyers: Multiple analyses describe Meta as inexpensive relative to its growth, citing a forward P/E near 17 and expectations for approximately 40% upside. Evercore’s Mark Mahaney reportedly named Meta a top large-cap idea with an $820 price target, while other analysts also maintain bullish views. Meta Named a Top Large-Cap Long Idea
• Positive Sentiment: Core advertising business remains strong: Recent coverage highlights rising revenue, ad impressions, ad prices and user engagement. Investors are encouraged that Meta’s AI investments may already be improving targeting, recommendations and advertising performance. Mark Zuckerberg Says He’s Betting Big on AI Compute
• Positive Sentiment: Recent earnings showed substantial growth: Meta’s latest quarter produced $60.8 billion in revenue, up 28% year over year and above estimates. That growth, combined with a comparatively low valuation, is driving “buy-the-dip” recommendations. Is Meta Stock a Buy on the Dip?
• Neutral Sentiment: International exposure is a key variable: Investors are assessing Meta’s dependence on overseas revenue, including the stability of international advertising demand and currency-related risks. Meta International Revenues Trends
• Negative Sentiment: AI investment remains the main risk: Meta’s earnings miss and concerns about sharply higher capital expenditures, weaker free cash flow and the timing of returns caused the recent post-earnings pressure. Some analysts have also reduced price targets, including Bank of America to $810 and Monness Crespi & Hardt to $730. What’s Going on With Meta Stock?

About Meta Platforms

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.