Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Stock Price Down 2.2% on Insider Selling

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) dropped 2.2% during trading on Friday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $484.66 and last traded at $490.73. Approximately 6,650,881 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 61% from the average daily volume of 16,893,307 shares. The stock had previously closed at $501.80.

Specifically, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 566 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $385.00, for a total value of $217,910.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 35,286 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,585,110. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 566 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $385.00, for a total value of $217,910.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 35,286 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,585,110. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 490 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $517.75, for a total transaction of $253,697.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 7,579 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,924,027.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,421,182 shares of company stock valued at $677,574,550. Company insiders own 13.75% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

META has been the subject of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $500.00 to $555.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and set a $500.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday, March 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $420.00 to $535.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $450.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $450.00 to $525.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, thirty-eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $519.53.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $1.23 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.29, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.20. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $494.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $398.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 2.67.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The social networking company reported $5.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.82 by $0.51. The business had revenue of $40.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $39.12 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 28.98% and a return on equity of 29.48%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.00 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.18 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 22nd were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 21st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.42%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is currently 13.42%.

Institutional Trading of Meta Platforms

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Stone House Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 625.0% in the third quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 87 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 68.9% in the third quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 103 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Company Profile

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.