Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Shares Down 3.4% Following Insider Selling

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)’s share price fell 3.4% on Thursday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $596.04 and last traded at $598.44. 4,710,239 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 65% from the average session volume of 13,620,409 shares. The stock had previously closed at $619.56.

Specifically, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $595.00, for a total transaction of $547,995.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 33,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,649,280. This represents a 2.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 608 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $609.00, for a total value of $370,272.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 8,054 shares in the company, valued at $4,904,886. The trade was a 7.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

META has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Benchmark upgraded Meta Platforms from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $820.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $670.00 to $775.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $800.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Argus set a $775.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $719.26.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $1.50 trillion, a P/E ratio of 24.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.23. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $657.96 and a two-hundred day moving average of $602.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a current ratio of 2.98.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 earnings per share 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 period in the previous year, the business earned $5.33 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.36%. This is a positive change from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.78%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. JDM Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the third quarter valued at $36,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth $40,000. Avondale Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth $41,000. Finally, WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

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.