Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Stock Price Down 12.7% on Insider Selling

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) was down 12.7% during mid-day trading on Thursday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $414.50 and last traded at $430.75. Approximately 39,868,671 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 127% from the average daily volume of 17,587,275 shares. The stock had previously closed at $493.50.

Specifically, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 19,681 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $393.85, for a total transaction of $7,751,361.85. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 6,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $400.00, for a total value of $2,600,000.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 68,935 shares in the company, valued at $27,574,000. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 19,681 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $393.85, for a total transaction of $7,751,361.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,349,148 shares of company stock valued at $649,552,559. Insiders own 13.75% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Tigress Financial increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $435.00 to $575.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $425.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $450.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $400.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $590.00 to $530.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, thirty-eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $509.18.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 10.6 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.13 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.62, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.20. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $495.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $403.40. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.32 by $0.39. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 28.98% and a return on equity of 29.48%. The business had revenue of $36.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.28 billion. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 21st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.45%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.42%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in META. Stone House Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 625.0% during the 3rd quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 87 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 68.9% during the 3rd quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 103 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. PayPay Securities Corp boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 65.2% during the 3rd quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 109 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Finally, Clear Investment Research LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 411.1% during the 4th quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 92 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.