Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Stock Price Down 0.6% After Insider Selling

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)’s share price dropped 0.6% on Friday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $431.96 and last traded at $438.93. Approximately 16,749,698 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 8% from the average daily volume of 18,163,588 shares. The stock had previously closed at $441.38.

Specifically, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 19,681 shares of the business’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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 19,681 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $393.85, for a total transaction of $7,751,361.85. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $522.00, for a total transaction of $305,370.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 38,398 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,043,756. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 1,349,148 shares of company stock valued at $649,552,559. 13.75% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $370.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. UBS Group lowered their price target on Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $575.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $570.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $590.00 to $565.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $397.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, thirty-eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $509.18.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 0.4 %

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $494.48 and a 200-day moving average of $404.27. The company has a market cap of $1.13 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.46, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 2.67 and a current ratio of 2.67.

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

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Shareholders 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 0.45%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.49%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of META. S.A. Mason LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. S.A. Mason LLC now owns 1,328 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $645,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN now owns 1,057 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $513,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the period. LongView Wealth Management lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. LongView Wealth Management now owns 1,762 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $856,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 5.3% during the 1st quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 435 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $211,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the period. Finally, Madison Wealth Partners Inc grew its position in Meta Platforms by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Madison Wealth Partners Inc now owns 1,417 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $502,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. 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.