Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) CTO Andrew Bosworth Sells 8,089 Shares

20 Feb 2026, 19:57 by Jessica Moore · The Cerbat Gem

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META – Get Free Report) CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 8,089 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $631.24, for a total value of $5,106,100.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 2,841 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,793,352.84. This represents a 74.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of META traded up $10.88 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $655.66. 14,087,261 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 16,567,889. The company has a market cap of $1.66 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.28. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $479.80 and a 1 year high of $796.25. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $656.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $690.96. The company has a current ratio of 2.60, a quick ratio of 2.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $59.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.33 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $8.02 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 23.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Investors of record on Monday, March 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is currently 8.94%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer lowered shares of Meta Platforms from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Citigroup reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $900.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, January 26th. DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Wolfe Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $850.00 target price (up previously from $800.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $844.29.

Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on Meta Platforms

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Westchester Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. RHL Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Niles Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Bare Financial Services Inc acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the second quarter valued at $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms News Summary

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

Positive Sentiment: Secured multiyear GPU/CPU and codesign deal with NVIDIA that locks supply and a roadmap (Rubin/Vera, confidential computing) — this makes Meta’s AI rollout and large‑scale personalization (e.g., WhatsApp agents) more credible and is a primary driver of investor buying. Read More.
Positive Sentiment: Latest results and marketing metrics show AI is improving ad efficiency — Q4 revenue and EPS beat and stronger ad metrics support the thesis that AI can monetize engagement and help justify infrastructure spend. Read More.
Positive Sentiment: Large institutional/activist positioning (including Bill Ackman / Pershing Square and other funds adding stakes) is providing conviction behind the rally and reduces short‑term supply risk. Read More.
Neutral Sentiment: Horizon Worlds is being repositioned to mobile and explicitly decoupled from Quest VR — this reduces near‑term execution risk for Reality Labs but also signals less near‑term upside if VR hardware adoption stalls. Read More.
Neutral Sentiment: Product/ecosystem updates (revived smartwatch plans; third‑party “Made for Meta” integrations like Virtuix) expand the device roadmap but are unlikely to move core ad revenue near term. Read More.
Negative Sentiment: Very large 2026 CapEx guidance (~$115–$135B) raises real margin and ROIC risk — if AI monetization lags, the spending could compress returns and leave Meta exposed to depreciating infrastructure. Read More.
Negative Sentiment: Notable insider selling (COO, CFO and at least one director disclosed multi‑trade sales) can add short‑term supply and raises questions about timing of personal liquidity events. Read More.
Negative Sentiment: Ongoing legal and child‑safety scrutiny (Zuckerberg testimony, PTA distancing, and public reporting on content/encryption tradeoffs) is an overhang that could affect user engagement, regulatory costs or ad targeting over time. Read More.

About Meta Platforms

(Get Free Report)

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.