Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Stock Price Down 2.4% on Insider Selling

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)’s share price traded down 2.4% during mid-day trading on Friday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $749.12 and last traded at $755.08. 7,605,853 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 51% from the average session volume of 15,577,286 shares. The stock had previously closed at $773.44.

Specifically, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $719.86, for a total transaction of $373,607.34. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 25,550 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,392,423. The trade was a 1.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $715.00, for a total transaction of $369,655.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 5,785 shares in the company, valued at $4,136,275. This represents a 8.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on META. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $850.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $720.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. JMP Securities boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $710.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-nine have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $820.32.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 3.0%

The company has a 50 day moving average of $701.68 and a 200-day moving average of $645.68. The stock has a market cap of $1.89 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 2.66 and a current ratio of 1.97.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The social networking company reported $7.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.75 by $1.39. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 39.99% and a return on equity of 39.33%. The company had revenue of $47.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $44.55 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.16 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were given a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.19%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Inlight Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the first quarter valued at $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 237.5% during the second quarter. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC now owns 54 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Briaud Financial Planning Inc acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the second quarter worth about $42,000. Hedge funds and other 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.