Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Stock Price Down 1.6% Following Insider Selling

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) traded down 1.6% during mid-day trading on Friday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $589.83 and last traded at $593.95. 2,061,874 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 14,722,797 shares. The stock had previously closed at $603.35.

Specifically, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $602.47, for a total value of $545,235.35. Following the sale, the insider now owns 33,820 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,375,535.40. This trade represents a 2.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 35,921 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $604.46, for a total value of $21,712,807.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $590.00, for a total transaction of $243,670.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 17,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,576,930. The trade was a 2.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on META. Raymond James restated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $675.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Needham & Company LLC reissued an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Barclays upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $645.00 to $705.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $638.00.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 2.73 and a quick ratio of 2.73. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $587.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $546.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.51 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.25, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.20.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.19 by $0.84. The firm had revenue of $40.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $40.21 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 35.55% and a return on equity of 35.60%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.68 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.33%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is 9.42%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.9% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,827,565 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $7,915,451,000 after buying an additional 118,298 shares during the last quarter. LS Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 111.4% in the 3rd quarter. LS Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,679 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $6,686,000 after acquiring an additional 6,155 shares in the last quarter. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. now owns 9,735 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $5,573,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 412,046 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $235,872,000 after purchasing an additional 5,594 shares in the last quarter. Finally, M&G PLC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 14.6% during the third quarter. M&G PLC now owns 721,339 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $412,606,000 after purchasing an additional 91,773 shares during the period. 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.