Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Shares Down 0.9% Following Insider Selling

Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) dropped 0.9% during trading on Thursday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $485.80 and last traded at $489.33. Approximately 3,425,547 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 17,703,070 shares. The stock had previously closed at $493.86.

Specifically, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 19,681 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $351.47, for a total transaction of $6,917,281.07. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 19,681 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $351.47, for a total value of $6,917,281.07. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 566 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $351.55, for a total transaction of $198,977.30. Following the sale, the insider now owns 36,984 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,001,725.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,504,435 shares of company stock valued at $703,629,367. 13.75% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on META. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $470.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $425.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. JMP Securities boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $410.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. UBS Group upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $425.00 to $530.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $435.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, thirty-nine have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $496.35.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 1.0 %

The company has a market capitalization of $1.25 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.21. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $464.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $375.30. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The social networking company reported $5.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.82 by $0.51. The firm had revenue of $40.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $39.12 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 28.98% and a return on equity of 29.48%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 24.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.00 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 19.94 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 22nd were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.41%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is presently 13.42%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Stone House Investment Management LLC grew its position 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 valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 68.9% during the 3rd quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 103 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.