Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Stock Price Down 0.7% on Insider Selling

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)’s share price fell 0.7% during mid-day trading on Monday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $496.01 and last traded at $500.58. 2,180,564 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 87% from the average session volume of 16,565,457 shares. The stock had previously closed at $504.16.

Specifically, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $503.34, for a total value of $8,406,784.68. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 275,297 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $138,567,991.98. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $503.34, for a total transaction of $8,406,784.68. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 275,297 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $138,567,991.98. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $431.05, for a total transaction of $252,164.25. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 36,643 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,794,965.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 391,071 shares of company stock valued at $192,834,857 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on META shares. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $450.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $545.00 price objective (down previously from $600.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $575.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $570.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, thirty-seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $510.41.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

The stock’s fifty day moving average is $480.14 and its 200-day moving average is $444.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.27 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.68 and a quick ratio of 2.68.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.32 by $0.39. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.06% and a return on equity of 32.03%. The firm had revenue of $36.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.28 billion. As a group, equities analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.40%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 11.49%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Chelsea Counsel Co. acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the first quarter worth $194,000. Mosaic Family Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in Meta Platforms by 3.1% during the first quarter. Mosaic Family Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,352 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $656,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the period. Jackson Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the first quarter worth $599,000. American Trust raised its position in Meta Platforms by 1.6% during the first quarter. American Trust now owns 3,179 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,544,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, OMC Financial Services LTD acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the first quarter worth $4,355,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Meta Platforms

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.