Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Stock Price Down 4.5% on Insider Selling

Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) fell 4.5% during mid-day trading on Thursday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $554.67 and last traded at $559.20. 7,731,409 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 47% from the average session volume of 14,645,962 shares. The stock had previously closed at $585.77.

Specifically, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $543.39, for a total transaction of $500,462.19. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 29,340 shares in the company, valued at $15,943,062.60. This trade represents a 3.04 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 608 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $488.18, for a total value of $296,813.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 5,622 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,744,547.96. This represents a 9.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on META. Raymond James restated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $800.00 price objective (up from $725.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $790.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $753.00 to $780.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $600.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $811.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $704.62.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $631.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $609.28. The company has a market capitalization of $1.38 trillion, a PE ratio of 22.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.98 and a quick ratio of 2.98.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.75 by $1.27. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.17% and a net margin of 37.91%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $5.33 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. This is a boost from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.38%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.78%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in META. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Avondale Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $41,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at $43,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth $45,000. Finally, Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth $47,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.