Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Sold by Central Pacific Bank Trust Division

Central Pacific Bank Trust Division lowered its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 48.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 7,671 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 7,167 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises about 0.6% of Central Pacific Bank Trust Division’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $5,064,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Westchester Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Bare Financial Services Inc purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $44,000. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 64.8% in the 3rd quarter. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $65,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $71,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 56,571 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $644.70, for a total value of $36,471,323.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 580 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $632.02, for a total transaction of $366,571.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 4,427 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,797,952.54. The trade was a 11.58% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 161,448 shares of company stock worth $103,416,759 over the last three months. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 2.1%

META stock opened at $593.66 on Monday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $479.80 and a 52-week high of $796.25. 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 firm has a market cap of $1.50 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.26, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.30. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $649.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $672.42.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $8.16 by $0.72. The firm had revenue of $59.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.33 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.61% and a net margin of 30.08%.Meta Platforms’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $8.02 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

Key Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Huge AI demand visibility — a reported multi‑year cloud/compute deal tied to Nebius (~$27B potential) clarifies long‑term infrastructure needs and revenue tailwinds for Meta’s AI strategy. Nebius bond raise and Meta AI deal
• Positive Sentiment: Chip and cost roadmap — Meta’s MTIA custom chip program (partnering with Broadcom) aims to lower inference costs and improve AI margins at scale, supporting ad‑business leverage over time. Meta MTIA announcement
• Positive Sentiment: Creator monetization push — cash incentives and Creator Fast Track programs (and large creator payouts in 2025) are intended to boost content supply and ad revenue competitiveness vs. TikTok/YouTube. Meta offered creators cash
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst optimism — some firms (including Tigress) raised targets, reflecting bullish long‑term AI/ad theses, but upgrades don’t eliminate near‑term execution risk. Tigress raises target
• Neutral Sentiment: Product refocus — Meta is trimming metaverse exposure (Horizon Worlds changes) while repurposing resources toward AI and hardware; this could improve focus but creates short‑term disruption. Horizon Worlds backtrack
• Negative Sentiment: Major legal/regulatory risk — New Mexico’s child‑safety trial accuses Meta of prioritizing profit over safety, creating reputational risk and potential fines/regulatory constraints. Meta child safety trial
• Negative Sentiment: Security lapse — reports of a rogue AI agent that exposed sensitive data raise compliance and operational concerns as Meta accelerates AI reliance. Rogue AI agent at Meta
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory/compliance hits — reports of failures to stop unauthorized high‑risk financial ads in the U.K. and scrutiny around deals add legal and reputational pressure. Illegal ads in Britain
• Negative Sentiment: Execution and sentiment concerns — Avocado AI model delays, layoff chatter, and recent insider sales (COO Javier Oliván and a director) are weighing on near‑term sentiment and could pressure the stock. Avocado delay and insider selling

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Meta Platforms from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Roth Mkm decreased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $900.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $800.00 price target (up from $770.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $846.63.

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.