Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Insider Christopher Cox Sells 20,000 Shares of Stock

Posted by Francis Steltz on Sep 11th, 2026

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META – Get Free Report) insider Christopher Cox sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $650.28, for a total transaction of $13,005,600.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 244,516 shares in the company, valued at approximately $159,003,864.48. This represents a 7.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ META traded up $3.65 during trading on Friday, reaching $648.03. The company had a trading volume of 16,906,126 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,965,039. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $520.26 and a 52 week high of $790.80. The stock has a market cap of $1.65 trillion, a PE ratio of 24.41, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 2.23. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $600.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $608.66.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META – Get Free Report) 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). Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 33.18% and a net margin of 29.83%.The company had revenue of $60.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $7.14 earnings per share. Meta Platforms’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 21st. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.91%.

More Meta Platforms News

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

Positive Sentiment: Muse gains early consumer traction: Meta’s new AI agent reportedly reached No. 2 or No. 3 on the U.S. App Store shortly after its launch. Muse can interact with social platforms and outside services, while paid tiers priced at $20 and $100 per month create a potential new revenue stream beyond advertising. Meta’s AI agent Muse is now the No. 2 app in the US
Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan upgraded the stock: JPMorgan raised Meta to Overweight from Neutral and increased its price target to $820, citing meaningful growth potential from frontier AI models and agentic products. The upgrade helped reinforce the bullish view that Meta can diversify beyond advertising. JPMorgan upgrades Meta on AI models and agents
Positive Sentiment: AI infrastructure optionality: Analysts believe Meta’s large AI-compute investments could eventually support a cloud-computing or infrastructure business, adding an opportunity not currently reflected in the valuation. The company’s strong revenue growth and substantial cash resources support this investment thesis.
Positive Sentiment: Quarterly dividend declared: Meta announced a $0.525-per-share dividend payable September 28 to shareholders of record September 21. While the yield is modest, the payout signals confidence in ongoing cash generation.
Neutral Sentiment: Legal settlement viewed as manageable: Commentary suggests Meta’s potential $18 billion social-media-addiction settlement, spread over a decade, may have a limited impact on annual free cash flow. Resolving the litigation could also remove an overhang, but the headline liability remains material.
Negative Sentiment: Monetization and privacy concerns: Muse’s usefulness depends on access to users’ inboxes, accounts and payments, raising adoption and privacy questions. Analysts remain uncertain about conversion rates and near-term revenue.
Negative Sentiment: AI execution and regulatory risks: A prominent AI researcher is leaving Meta for Anthropic, while an internal effort to capture employee screens for AI training reportedly triggered resistance. Meta is also discussing possible teen social-media restrictions in South Korea, and TikTok rejected Meta advertisements urging participation in a child-safety settlement.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of META. RHL Group LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Advantage Trust Co acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Philadelphia Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Axiom Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter worth about $36,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

META has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $810.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Monness Crespi & Hardt lowered their price target on Meta Platforms from $890.00 to $730.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $830.00 to $750.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Scotiabank reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $600.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Friday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $787.54.

Get Our Latest Report on META

Meta Platforms Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Meta Platforms, Inc develops technologies that help people connect, communicate and build communities online. The company’s principal products include Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp and Threads, which enable social networking, messaging, content sharing and digital communication.

Meta generates most of its business through advertising displayed across its family of apps. It also develops artificial intelligence technologies, business messaging tools and hardware and software through its Reality Labs division, including Quest virtual- and mixed-reality devices and related experiences.

The company was founded as Facebook in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg and was renamed Meta Platforms in 2021 to reflect its broader focus on building the metaverse.