Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. Sells 5,700 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. lessened its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 7.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 67,783 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 5,700 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up about 0.9% of Comgest Global Investors S.A.S.’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Comgest Global Investors S.A.S.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $49,778,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter worth about $23,155,393,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 73,443.1% during the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,417,003 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $6,212,506,000 after acquiring an additional 8,405,558 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 1.9% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 86,925,674 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $64,158,971,000 after purchasing an additional 1,650,435 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 0.8% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 192,591,101 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $142,149,566,000 after purchasing an additional 1,532,568 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 103.5% in the second quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,998,624 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,475,166,000 after purchasing an additional 1,016,667 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

META has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, January 29th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $710.00 to $730.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $840.00 to $880.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Argus restated a “buy” rating and set a $800.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Evercore upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $900.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $844.44.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 2.3%

Shares of META opened at $653.69 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $1.65 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.28. 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. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $656.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $687.00.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The social networking company reported $8.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.16 by $0.72. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.61% and a net margin of 30.08%.The business had revenue of $59.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.33 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $8.02 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 23.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast 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 will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be given a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 18,789 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $650.00, for a total value of $12,212,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 68,888 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,777,200. The trade was a 21.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 2,461 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Sunday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $639.77, for a total value of $1,574,473.97. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 12,108 shares in the company, valued at $7,746,335.16. This represents a 16.89% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 48,135 shares of company stock valued at $31,063,415 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Big AMD AI deal validates Meta’s AI roadmap and diversifies suppliers — Meta agreed to deploy up to ~6 gigawatts of AMD Instinct GPUs (a multi‑year, multi‑billion-dollar commitment and potential equity stake), a major catalyst for confidence in Meta’s AI infrastructure strategy. AMD clinches second mega chip supply deal, this time with Meta
• Positive Sentiment: Short interest fell meaningfully in February (down ~16.5%), reducing one source of downward pressure and making squeezes less likely to amplify sell-offs in the near term.
• Neutral Sentiment: Wall Street reaction is mixed but constructive — some banks (e.g., BofA) see long‑term earnings upside from the AMD tie‑up despite higher capex, while others remain cautious about elevated investment intensity. Meta-AMD AI deal boosts scale but extends high capex cycle, analysts say
• Neutral Sentiment: Policy and operational items could affect costs or timelines — the White House plans talks with Big Tech on data‑center power costs (potentially easing power concerns), and Meta will appear at the Morgan Stanley TMT conference (CFO Susan Li on March 4). White House to host Big Tech in pledge to rein in power costs Meta to Participate in the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media & Telecom Conference
• Neutral Sentiment: Product/monetization runway: reports that Meta is preparing a stablecoin/payments push in H2 2026 are a longer‑term monetization positive but carry regulatory and execution risk. Meta Hopes to Launch Stablecoin Payments Project This Year
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling — CFO Susan Li disclosed a large sale (18,789 shares, ~21% reduction at the time) and COO Javier Olivan sold shares recently; such high‑value insider sales can prompt investor concern about executive conviction even if they are often for diversification or taxes. SEC filing: Susan J. Li sale SEC filing: Javier Olivan sale
• Negative Sentiment: High‑profile investor exit — reports that billionaire Stanley Druckenmiller eliminated his fund’s Meta position may weigh on sentiment and be interpreted as a vote of caution by some institutional players. Billionaire Investor Stanley Druckenmiller Eliminated His Fund’s Position in Meta Platforms
• Negative Sentiment: Legal/reputational risk from ongoing litigation — court filings about encryption and child‑safety concerns could prompt regulatory scrutiny and headline risk. Meta executive warned Facebook Messenger encryption plan was ‘so irresponsible’

Meta Platforms Company Profile

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.