Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Insider Jennifer Newstead Sells 905 Shares

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $589.89, for a total value of $533,850.45. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 34,197 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,172,468.33. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

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

• On Tuesday, October 1st, Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $578.55, for a total transaction of $523,587.75.
• On Tuesday, September 17th, Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $537.72, for a total value of $486,636.60.
• On Tuesday, September 10th, Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $507.63, for a total transaction of $459,405.15.
• On Tuesday, September 3rd, Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $520.00, for a total transaction of $470,600.00.
• On Tuesday, August 27th, Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $519.05, for a total transaction of $469,740.25.
• On Tuesday, August 20th, Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $528.38, for a total value of $478,183.90.
• On Friday, August 16th, Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $532.21, for a total value of $481,650.05.
• On Monday, August 5th, Jennifer Newstead sold 901 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $451.15, for a total value of $406,486.15.
• On Tuesday, July 23rd, Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $489.80, for a total transaction of $443,269.00.
• On Tuesday, July 16th, Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $501.42, for a total value of $453,785.10.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META opened at $589.95 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $279.40 and a 12 month high of $602.95. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $538.12 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $505.52. The company has a current ratio of 2.83, a quick ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The company has a market cap of $1.49 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.22.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.70 by $0.46. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 34.16% and a net margin of 34.34%. The business had revenue of $39.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.26 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.23 EPS. Meta Platforms’s revenue was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.34%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.21%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on META. JMP Securities raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $635.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. TD Securities raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $600.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $643.00 to $811.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $609.71.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Benson Investment Management Company Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Benson Investment Management Company Inc. now owns 12,374 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $7,083,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 10,834 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $6,151,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares during the period. Iams Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 21.8% during the 3rd quarter. Iams Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,888 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,081,000 after buying an additional 338 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.1% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 716,847 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $410,352,000 after buying an additional 14,754 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wesbanco Bank Inc. boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 21.9% during the third quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 80,558 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $46,115,000 after acquiring an additional 14,456 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently 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.