Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Shares Down 0.4% on Insider Selling

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) traded down 0.4% on Wednesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $569.34 and last traded at $573.95. 2,326,508 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 15,528,377 shares. The stock had previously closed at $576.47.

Specifically, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $570.00, for a total transaction of $235,410.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 12,359 shares in the company, valued at $7,044,630. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $625.00 to $647.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $522.00 to $555.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Benchmark reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $565.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $597.95.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 0.4 %

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 stock has a market cap of $1.46 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.97, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.21. The business’s fifty day moving average is $519.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $500.85.

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

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.49%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of META. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 527.3% in the 1st quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter valued at $38,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 122.2% in the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 95.6% in the 1st quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 88 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter valued at $44,000. 79.91% of the stock is 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.