Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Trading Down 0.1% on Insider Selling

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)’s stock price was down 0.1% during trading on Wednesday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $494.54 and last traded at $495.74. Approximately 7,528,534 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 56% from the average daily volume of 17,004,471 shares. The stock had previously closed at $496.10.

Specifically, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $491.25, for a total value of $287,381.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 37,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,288,255. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, insider Nicholas Clegg sold 2,025 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $473.28, for a total value of $958,392.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 10,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,757,883.84. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $491.25, for a total value of $287,381.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 37,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,288,255. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,349,148 shares of company stock valued at $649,552,559 in the last quarter. 13.75% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Truist Financial cut their price target on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $535.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Wolfe Research cut their price target on Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Mizuho raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $470.00 to $575.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $370.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Meta Platforms from $585.00 to $540.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, thirty-eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $509.18.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 2.67. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $495.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $403.40. The stock has a market cap of $1.13 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.62, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.20.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.32 by $0.39. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 29.48% and a net margin of 28.98%. The firm had revenue of $36.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.28 billion. Research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 21st. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 13.42%.

Institutional Trading of Meta Platforms

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Stone House Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 625.0% during the third quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 87 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 68.9% during the third quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 103 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. PayPay Securities Corp lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 65.2% in the third quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 109 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. Finally, Clear Investment Research LLC lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 411.1% in the fourth quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 92 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the period. 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.