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

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 24th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,375,535.40. This represents a 2.61 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

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

• On Tuesday, December 17th, Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $626.66, for a total value of $567,127.30.
• On Tuesday, December 10th, Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $618.00, for a total value of $559,290.00.
• On Tuesday, December 3rd, Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $595.00, for a total transaction of $538,475.00.
• On Tuesday, November 26th, Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $565.30, for a total transaction of $511,596.50.
• On Tuesday, November 5th, Jennifer Newstead sold 901 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $567.70, for a total transaction of $511,497.70.
• On Tuesday, October 29th, Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $580.10, for a total value of $524,990.50.
• On Tuesday, October 22nd, Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $574.70, for a total value of $520,103.50.
• On Tuesday, October 15th, Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $589.97, for a total value of $533,922.85.
• On Tuesday, October 8th, Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $589.89, for a total transaction of $533,850.45.
• 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.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

NASDAQ META opened at $603.35 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $1.52 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.42, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $587.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $545.17. The company has a current ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 2.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $340.01 and a 12-month high of $638.40.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.19 by $0.84. The firm had revenue of $40.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $40.21 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 35.55% and a return on equity of 35.60%. Sell-side analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.33%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.42%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Guggenheim upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $665.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Barclays upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $670.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $652.00 to $641.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Scotiabank cut their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $585.00 to $583.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $638.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 21.0% during the second quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC now owns 13,365 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $6,739,000 after purchasing an additional 2,315 shares during the last quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the second quarter valued at approximately $210,000. LS Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 128.3% during the second quarter. LS Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,524 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,785,000 after acquiring an additional 3,104 shares during the period. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the second quarter worth $202,000. Finally, Harbour Investments Inc. grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 10,698 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $5,394,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

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.