Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Shares Down 0.8% Following Insider Selling

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)’s share price was down 0.8% on Thursday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $564.10 and last traded at $569.20. Approximately 7,200,228 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 52% from the average daily volume of 14,911,236 shares. The stock had previously closed at $573.54.

Specifically, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $565.30, for a total transaction of $511,596.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 37,790 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,362,687. This trade represents a 2.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $562.77, for a total transaction of $232,424.01. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 19,579 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,018,473.83. The trade was a 2.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on META shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $640.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $590.00 to $663.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Roth Mkm lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $620.00 to $635.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $575.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $634.71.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $1.44 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.22. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $574.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $526.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 2.73 and a quick ratio of 2.73.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.19 by $0.84. The company had revenue of $40.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $40.21 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 35.55% and a return on equity of 35.60%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.35%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is currently 9.42%.

Institutional Trading of Meta Platforms

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. JDM Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter worth about $38,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 122.2% in the 2nd quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 80 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the period. Finally, Halpern Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.