Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Shares Down 0.6% Following Insider Selling

Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) dropped 0.6% during trading on Wednesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $495.19 and last traded at $496.84. Approximately 2,738,503 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 16,944,990 shares. The stock had previously closed at $499.76.

Specifically, CFO Susan J. Li sold 10,956 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $473.28, for a total value of $5,185,255.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 76,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $36,157,645.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 9,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $388.90, for a total transaction of $3,500,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 79,935 shares in the company, valued at $31,086,721.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 10,956 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $473.28, for a total value of $5,185,255.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 76,398 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,157,645.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,421,182 shares of company stock valued at $677,574,550 in the last three months. 13.75% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Bank of America boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $425.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Barclays increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $400.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $535.00 to $590.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Tigress Financial upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $435.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $420.00 to $535.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, thirty-eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $519.53.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 2.67 and a current ratio of 2.67. The stock has a market cap of $1.28 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.20. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $494.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $397.43.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The social networking company reported $5.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.82 by $0.51. The company had revenue of $40.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.12 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 28.98% and a return on equity of 29.48%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.00 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.40%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 21st. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.42%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Stone House Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 625.0% in the third quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 87 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the first quarter worth about $44,000. Clear Investment Research LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 411.1% in the fourth quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 92 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gilfoyle & Co LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.