Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Shares Down 3.7% on Insider Selling

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)’s stock price was down 3.7% during trading on Friday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $494.20 and last traded at $511.83. Approximately 13,579,421 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 6% from the average daily volume of 14,384,515 shares. The stock had previously closed at $531.62.

Specifically, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $570.66, for a total value of $525,577.86. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 30,261 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,268,742.26. The trade was a 2.95 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 608 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $563.03, for a total value of $342,322.24. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 6,230 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,507,676.90. The trade was a 8.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Analyst Ratings Changes

META has been the subject of several analyst reports. Citigroup raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $753.00 to $780.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Pivotal Research lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $736.00 to $786.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $811.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $718.55.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a current ratio of 2.98. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $648.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $610.27. The company has a market cap of $1.28 trillion, a P/E ratio of 21.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.28.

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

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.525 per share. This is a positive change from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.42%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.78%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. JDM Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Avondale Wealth Management bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Finally, Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.