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

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) dropped 2.6% during mid-day trading on Friday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $528.59 and last traded at $532.06. Approximately 6,329,307 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 57% from the average daily volume of 14,705,042 shares. The stock had previously closed at $546.29.

Specifically, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $543.39, for a total transaction of $500,462.19. Following the sale, the insider now owns 29,340 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,943,062.60. The trade was a 3.04 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 608 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $488.18, for a total transaction of $296,813.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 5,622 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,744,547.96. This represents a 9.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

META has been the subject of a number of research reports. Guggenheim lowered their price target on Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $675.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $610.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Two 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $701.38.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $628.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $609.11. The firm has a market cap of $1.38 trillion, a PE ratio of 22.72, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a current ratio of 2.98.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.33 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.39%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.78%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. Avondale Wealth Management acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth about $43,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Finally, Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently 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.