Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Shares Down 2.4% on Insider Selling

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) shares fell 2.4% during mid-day trading on Wednesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $506.21 and last traded at $509.08. 5,267,497 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 64% from the average session volume of 14,746,648 shares. The stock had previously closed at $521.52.

Specifically, COO Javier Olivan sold 608 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $556.45, for a total transaction of $338,321.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 5,014 shares in the company, valued at $2,790,040.30. This trade represents a 10.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of the company’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 value of $500,462.19. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 29,340 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,943,062.60. This represents a 3.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on META. Guggenheim decreased their price target on Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $675.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $786.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $780.00 to $655.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Raymond James reissued a “strong-buy” rating and set a $800.00 price target (up from $725.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $790.00 to $624.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given 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 an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $686.83.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 3.7 %

The firm has a market cap of $1.27 trillion, a P/E ratio of 21.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.28. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $616.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $607.81. The company has a current ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.75 by $1.27. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 37.91% and a return on equity of 38.17%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.33 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.42%. This is a boost from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is presently 8.78%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Avondale Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth $41,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth $43,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

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.