Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Shares Gap Down After Insider Selling

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) shares gapped down before the market opened on Thursday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock had previously closed at $493.50, but opened at $421.40. Meta Platforms shares last traded at $443.43, with a volume of 32,298,811 shares changing hands.

Specifically, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 97,093 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $469.67, for a total transaction of $45,601,669.31. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 97,093 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $469.67, for a total transaction of $45,601,669.31. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 490 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $488.03, for a total transaction of $239,134.70. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 79,944 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,015,070.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,349,148 shares of company stock worth $649,552,559. 13.75% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on META shares. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $585.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $425.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $590.00 to $530.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $585.00 to $540.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $550.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, April 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, thirty-eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $509.18.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

The firm’s 50-day moving average is $494.48 and its 200-day moving average is $404.27. 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 company has a market capitalization of $1.13 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.20.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.32 by $0.39. The company had revenue of $36.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.28 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.06% and a return on equity of 32.37%. Analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 22nd were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 21st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.45%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is currently 11.49%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of META. Stone House Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 625.0% in the third quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 87 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 68.9% in the third quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 103 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. PayPay Securities Corp lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clear Investment Research LLC lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.