Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Trading Down 4.3% on Insider Selling

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) fell 4.3% on Tuesday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $625.97 and last traded at $626.93. 7,612,104 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 44% from the average session volume of 13,597,387 shares. The stock had previously closed at $655.05.

Specifically, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $677.71, for a total value of $13,554,200.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 308,686 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $209,199,589.06. This represents a 6.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $665.75, for a total value of $613,155.75. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 34,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,212,039.50. This trade represents a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 608 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $686.28, for a total value of $417,258.24. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 9,270 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,361,815.60. This represents a 6.16 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Analyst Ratings Changes

META has been the topic of several recent research reports. DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Scotiabank upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $583.00 to $627.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $660.00 to $725.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $800.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $736.00 to $786.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $719.26.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $1.62 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.20. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $654.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $598.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.98 and a quick ratio of 2.98.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 earnings per share (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 quarter in the prior year, the business posted $5.33 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.78%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. JDM Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Avondale Wealth Management acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth about $43,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.