Jennifer Newstead Sells 585 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Stock

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $491.25, for a total value of $287,381.25. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 37,228 shares in the company, valued at $18,288,255. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Jennifer Newstead also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, April 16th, Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $498.59, for a total value of $291,675.15.
• On Tuesday, April 9th, Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $522.00, for a total value of $305,370.00.
• On Tuesday, April 2nd, Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $485.00, for a total transaction of $283,725.00.
• On Tuesday, March 26th, Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.29, for a total transaction of $295,594.65.
• On Tuesday, March 19th, Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $488.50, for a total transaction of $285,772.50.
• On Tuesday, March 12th, Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $493.75, for a total value of $288,843.75.
• On Tuesday, March 5th, Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $495.00, for a total value of $289,575.00.
• On Tuesday, February 27th, Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $480.00, for a total value of $280,800.00.
• On Tuesday, February 20th, Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $469.88, for a total transaction of $274,879.80.
• On Tuesday, February 6th, Jennifer Newstead sold 552 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $464.00, for a total transaction of $256,128.00.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $443.29 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 2.67 and a current ratio of 2.67. The firm has a market cap of $1.13 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.20. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $494.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $404.27. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $229.85 and a one year high of $531.49.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.32 by $0.39. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 32.37% and a net margin of 32.06%. The business had revenue of $36.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.28 billion. As a group, equities analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.18 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 21st. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 11.49%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $527.00 to $588.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Guggenheim dropped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $520.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Mizuho increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $470.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Truist Financial lowered their price target on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $535.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Finally, Tigress Financial increased their price objective 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, thirty-eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $509.18.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 6.3% during the third quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC now owns 7,221 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,168,000 after purchasing an additional 429 shares in the last quarter. Cedar Brook Financial Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Cedar Brook Financial Partners LLC now owns 3,094 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $929,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Perennial Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 11.0% in the 3rd quarter. Perennial Advisors LLC now owns 3,028 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $909,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 10.0% during the 3rd quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 4,862 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,460,000 after acquiring an additional 443 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 322.8% during the third quarter. Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC now owns 334 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $100,000 after acquiring an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. 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.