Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Shares Down 2.9% Following Insider Selling

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) dropped 2.9% during mid-day trading on Friday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $584.91 and last traded at $585.25. Approximately 4,310,604 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 69% from the average daily volume of 13,805,217 shares. The stock had previously closed at $602.58.

Specifically, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $627.05, for a total transaction of $577,513.05. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 31,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,552,673.10. This represents a 2.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 608 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $614.97, for a total transaction of $373,901.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 6,838 shares in the company, valued at $4,205,164.86. This represents a 8.17 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on META shares. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $710.00 to $765.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $660.00 to $725.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Argus set a $775.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $718.31.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 4.3 %

The company has a market capitalization of $1.46 trillion, a P/E ratio of 24.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $655.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $608.48. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 last year, the firm earned $5.33 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. This is a boost from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.36%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.78%.

Institutional Trading of Meta Platforms

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. JDM Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the third quarter worth about $36,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Avondale Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.