Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Stock Price Down 1.2% After Insider Selling

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) traded down 1.2% on Wednesday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $582.22 and last traded at $585.80. 3,935,662 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 74% from the average session volume of 15,407,109 shares. The stock had previously closed at $592.89.

Specifically, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $583.73, for a total transaction of $241,080.49. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 11,946 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,973,238.58. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $578.55, for a total value of $523,587.75. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 35,102 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,308,262.10. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on META shares. JMP Securities raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $635.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $560.00 to $655.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $522.00 to $555.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Loop Capital boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $475.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $605.33.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 1.2 %

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 capitalization of $1.49 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.65, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.22. The company’s 50-day moving average is $532.05 and its 200-day moving average is $503.76.

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 business had revenue of $39.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.23 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 11.49%.

Institutional Trading of Meta Platforms

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Meta Platforms by 24.2% in the fourth quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 835,972 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $295,901,000 after purchasing an additional 163,067 shares during the period. Gradient Investments LLC lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 8.9% during the 2nd quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 72,587 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $36,600,000 after acquiring an additional 5,953 shares in the last quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 14.0% during the 1st quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 6,101,501 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,962,767,000 after acquiring an additional 748,076 shares during the period. ERn Financial LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms by 59.0% in the 1st quarter. ERn Financial LLC now owns 1,652 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $802,000 after acquiring an additional 613 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stanley Laman Group Ltd. increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 26.5% during the second quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. now owns 1,678 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $846,000 after purchasing an additional 352 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.