Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Trading Down 0.5% Following Insider Selling

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)’s share price traded down 0.5% during mid-day trading on Tuesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $554.19 and last traded at $561.43. 4,979,617 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 68% from the average session volume of 15,605,196 shares. The stock had previously closed at $564.41.

Specifically, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $557.52, for a total value of $11,150,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 338,662 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $188,810,838.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $537.72, for a total value of $486,636.60. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 36,912 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,848,320.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on META. Roth Mkm upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $510.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Loop Capital raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $563.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, thirty-four have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $578.92.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 2.83, a current ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $508.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $497.64. The company has a market capitalization of $1.42 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.25, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.21.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.70 by $0.46. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 34.34% and a return on equity of 34.16%. The firm had revenue of $39.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.26 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.23 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.36 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.36%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.49%.

Institutional Trading of Meta Platforms

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Clear Investment Research LLC boosted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 527.3% during the first quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the second quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 122.2% in the second quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 80 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently 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.