Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Trading Down 0.3% After Insider Selling

Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) fell 0.3% during mid-day trading on Wednesday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $700.88 and last traded at $702.33. 6,308,300 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 60% from the average session volume of 15,599,531 shares. The stock had previously closed at $704.19.

Specifically, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 12,975 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $696.23, for a total value of $9,033,584.25. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 197,996 shares in the company, valued at $137,850,755.08. The trade was a 6.15 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 12,975 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $706.72, for a total transaction of $9,169,692.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 172,046 shares in the company, valued at $121,588,349.12. This represents a 7.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $676.00, for a total value of $279,188.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 15,449 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,443,524. The trade was a 2.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on META shares. Arete Research upgraded shares of Meta Platforms to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $670.00 to $775.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $750.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $688.00 to $765.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $710.83.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $624.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $572.13. The company has a quick ratio of 2.98, a current ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The company has a market cap of $1.80 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.20.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.75 by $1.27. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 37.91% and a return on equity of 38.17%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $5.33 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 25.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.28%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 8.36%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. JDM Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the third quarter valued at about $36,000. Avondale Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at about $41,000. West Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the third quarter worth about $49,000. Finally, Cordant Inc. bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at about $59,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.