Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Stock Price Down 8% on Insider Selling

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) traded down 8% during mid-day trading on Thursday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $543.35 and last traded at $547.2510. 35,437,559 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 132% from the average session volume of 15,274,611 shares. The stock had previously closed at $594.89.

Specifically, COO Javier Olivan sold 629 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $605.38, for a total value of $380,784.02. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 2,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,608,494.66. This trade represents a 19.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 926 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $605.38, for a total value of $560,581.88. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 13,335 shares in the company, valued at $8,072,742.30. The trade was a 6.49% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on META shares. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $810.00 to $885.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $880.00 to $920.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Evercore lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $840.00 to $880.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, KeyCorp lowered their price target on Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $835.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $846.63.

Key Headlines Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Arm partnership gives Meta a direct customer/co‑developer role for Arm’s new AGI CPU, validating Meta’s data‑center/AI strategy and potentially lowering long‑term AI infrastructure costs. Arm launches first own-brand chip with Meta as launch customer
• Positive Sentiment: Heavy bullish options flows: traders bought an abnormal volume of call options (861,428 calls, ~68% above typical daily activity), signaling speculative or hedged bullish positioning that can amplify upside if sentiment turns.
• Positive Sentiment: Technical oversold signal: some analysts/shops note RSI has plunged into “deep buy” territory after the selloff, which can attract short‑term bargain hunters and traders. Meta Stock Meltdown Pushes RSI Into Buy The Blood Territory
• Neutral Sentiment: Workforce and org moves: Meta is cutting several hundred roles and reorganizing units into AI‑native pods while launching programs (e.g., Meta Small Business) to monetize AI — these moves reduce near‑term cost pressure but also highlight major strategic shifts. Meta is cutting several hundred jobs
• Neutral Sentiment: Executive retention/incentives: Meta granted performance‑tied stock awards and aggressive long‑term targets (ambitious market‑cap hurdles). This may retain talent but raises governance/optics concerns. Meta grants senior executives stock awards to retain talent
• Negative Sentiment: Landmark legal losses: back‑to‑back jury rulings (including an LA social‑media addiction verdict finding negligence) have heightened the risk of follow‑on litigation and meaningful fines, which is a primary driver of the stock’s decline today. Meta shares slip after US jury verdicts raise concerns of new legal exposure
• Negative Sentiment: New Mexico $375M penalty: a state jury ordered Meta to pay $375 million in a child‑safety case, adding concrete financial and reputational risk to the legal overhang. Meta Ordered to Pay $375 Million Over Child Safety Violations
• Negative Sentiment: Rampant capex concerns: investors are nervous about large AI data‑center spending (Meta just boosted its El Paso AI data‑center commitment to $10B to reach ~1GW by 2028), compounding worries about free cash flow and the company’s 2026 CapEx plans. Meta boosts investment in West Texas AI data center by over sixfold to $10 billion

Meta Platforms Stock Down 8.0%

The company has a quick ratio of 2.60, a current ratio of 2.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The company has a market capitalization of $1.38 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.29, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.30. The business’s 50-day moving average is $647.29 and its 200-day moving average is $669.74.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The social networking company reported $8.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.16 by $0.72. The company had revenue of $59.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.33 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.61% and a net margin of 30.08%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $8.02 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.94%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Westchester Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the third quarter valued at $26,000. Bare Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. RHL Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter valued at about $44,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.