Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Shares Down 1% on Insider Selling

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) shares were down 1% during mid-day trading on Wednesday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $567.00 and last traded at $568.05. Approximately 2,090,504 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average daily volume of 14,887,581 shares. The stock had previously closed at $573.54.

Specifically, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $565.30, for a total transaction of $511,596.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 37,790 shares in the company, valued at $21,362,687. This represents a 2.34 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $562.77, for a total transaction of $232,424.01. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 19,579 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,018,473.83. This represents a 2.07 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on META shares. Mizuho upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $670.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $615.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $665.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $575.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $634.71.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $1.44 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.22. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $574.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $526.03. The company has a quick ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 2.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.19 by $0.84. The firm had revenue of $40.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $40.21 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 35.60% and a net margin of 35.55%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.35%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.42%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of META. Cypress Asset Management Inc. TX increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 541.8% during the first quarter. Cypress Asset Management Inc. TX now owns 3,819 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,862,000 after purchasing an additional 3,224 shares during the period. First City Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. First City Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,499 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $728,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Cedar Point Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 11.6% during the 1st quarter. Cedar Point Capital Partners LLC now owns 681 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $331,000 after buying an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Burney Co. raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 8.4% during the 1st quarter. Burney Co. now owns 68,805 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $33,411,000 after buying an additional 5,307 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Austin Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 15.0% in the 1st quarter. Austin Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,535 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $718,000 after acquiring an additional 200 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.