Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Stock Price Down 0.9% After Insider Selling

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) traded down 0.9% during trading on Thursday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $485.80 and last traded at $489.33. 3,425,547 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 17,703,070 shares. The stock had previously closed at $493.86.

Specifically, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 566 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $351.55, for a total value of $198,977.30. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 36,984 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,001,725.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 1,064 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $351.51, for a total transaction of $374,006.64. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 566 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $351.55, for a total value of $198,977.30. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 36,984 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,001,725.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,504,435 shares of company stock worth $703,629,367. 13.75% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on META shares. Wedbush raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $420.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $385.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $500.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, March 18th. Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $450.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $420.00 to $535.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, thirty-nine have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $496.35.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $1.24 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.59, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a quick ratio of 2.67, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $467.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $376.07.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The social networking company reported $5.33 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.82 by $0.51. The firm had revenue of $40.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.12 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 28.98% and a return on equity of 29.48%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.00 EPS. Meta Platforms’s revenue was up 24.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 19.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 21st. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.42%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of META. Stone House Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 625.0% during the third quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 87 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Clear Investment Research LLC grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 411.1% during the fourth quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 92 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the period. Gilfoyle & Co LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 80.4% in the fourth quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC now owns 101 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

About Meta Platforms

Meta Platforms, Inc engages in the development of products that enable people to connect and share with friends and family through mobile devices, personal computers, virtual reality headsets, and wearables worldwide. It operates in two segments, Family of Apps and Reality Labs. The Family of Apps segment offers Facebook, which enables people to share, discuss, discover, and connect with interests; Instagram, a community for sharing photos, videos, and private messages, as well as feed, stories, reels, video, live, and shops; Messenger, a messaging application for people to connect with friends, family, communities, and businesses across platforms and devices through text, audio, and video calls; and WhatsApp, a messaging application that is used by people and businesses to communicate and transact privately.