Insider Selling: Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Insider Sells 905 Shares of Stock

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $537.72, for a total value of $486,636.60. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 36,912 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,848,320.64. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

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

• 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 value of $459,405.15.
• On Tuesday, September 3rd, Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was 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 stock was 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 transaction of $478,183.90.
• On Friday, August 16th, Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $532.21, for a total transaction 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 transaction of $406,486.15.
• On Tuesday, July 23rd, Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $489.80, for a total value of $443,269.00.
• On Tuesday, July 16th, Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $501.42, for a total value of $453,785.10.
• On Tuesday, July 9th, Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $533.95, for a total value of $483,224.75.
• On Tuesday, July 2nd, Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.57, for a total value of $453,015.85.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 3.9 %

Shares of Meta Platforms stock traded up $21.15 on Thursday, hitting $559.10. 15,362,044 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 15,646,086. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $505.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $496.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.83 and a quick ratio of 2.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.42 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.21. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $279.40 and a one year high of $562.07.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 the consensus estimate of $38.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.23 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 26th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.36%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is 11.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on META. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $565.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $570.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Barclays raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $520.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $500.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, thirty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $577.26.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 527.3% during the 1st quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the second quarter worth $38,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 122.2% during the second quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 80 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the period. Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 95.6% in the 1st quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 88 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

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.