Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Trading Down 2.6% After Insider Selling

Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) were down 2.6% during trading on Tuesday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $608.23 and last traded at $613.61. Approximately 4,546,834 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 57% from the average daily volume of 10,568,646 shares. The stock had previously closed at $630.20.

Specifically, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 35,921 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $603.98, for a total transaction of $21,695,565.58. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $589.16, for a total transaction of $243,323.08. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 17,514 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,318,548.24. This represents a 2.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $591.76, for a total value of $535,542.80. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 32,915 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,477,780.40. This represents a 2.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $630.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $690.00 to $719.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $645.80.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 2.0 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.56 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 2.73 and a quick ratio of 2.73. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $591.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $551.33.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.19 by $0.84. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 35.60% and a net margin of 35.55%. The firm had revenue of $40.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $40.21 billion. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.32%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.42%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Range Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 215.6% during the 4th quarter. Range Financial Group LLC now owns 4,649 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,722,000 after acquiring an additional 3,176 shares in the last quarter. One Wealth Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth about $1,672,000. Norway Savings Bank increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Norway Savings Bank now owns 3,826 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,240,000 after buying an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Birch Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $94,000. Finally, Bath Savings Trust Co lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 10.7% in the fourth quarter. Bath Savings Trust Co now owns 488 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $286,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.