Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Trading Down 2.9% on Insider Selling

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)’s share price fell 2.9% on Friday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $584.91 and last traded at $585.25. 4,310,604 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 69% from the average session volume of 13,805,217 shares. The stock had previously closed at $602.58.

Specifically, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $627.05, for a total value of $577,513.05. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 31,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,552,673.10. This represents a 2.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 608 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $614.97, for a total value of $373,901.76. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 6,838 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,205,164.86. This represents a 8.17 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on META. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $736.00 to $786.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $720.00 to $790.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $718.31.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 4.3 %

The business’s fifty day moving average price is $655.23 and its 200 day moving average price is $609.21. The company has a quick ratio of 2.98, a current ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.46 trillion, a PE ratio of 24.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.23.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.75 by $1.27. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 37.91% and a return on equity of 38.17%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.33 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.36%. This is a positive change from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.78%.

Institutional Trading of Meta Platforms

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. Milestone Asset Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,662,000. Avant Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at $497,000. Fire Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at $1,235,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth $1,987,000. Finally, Prostatis Group LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 21.9% in the 4th quarter. Prostatis Group LLC now owns 2,446 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,432,000 after buying an additional 439 shares during the period. 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.