Meta Platforms Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NASDAQ:META)

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Friday. Stock investors purchased 495,861 call options on the company. This is an increase of 6% compared to the typical volume of 466,793 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $545.17, for a total transaction of $502,101.57. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 26,577 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,488,983.09. This trade represents a 3.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $676.00, for a total value of $279,188.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 15,449 shares in the company, valued at $10,443,524. The trade was a 2.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 237,017 shares of company stock valued at $167,207,524. 13.71% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Meta Platforms

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. Inlight Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. Avondale Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth $41,000. Finally, WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth about $43,000. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 4.3 %

META opened at $597.02 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.51 trillion, a P/E ratio of 24.96, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $575.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $603.62. Meta Platforms has a twelve month low of $442.65 and a twelve month high of $740.91.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.33 by $1.10. The business had revenue of $42.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $41.45 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 37.91% and a return on equity of 38.17%. Meta Platforms’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $4.71 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.35%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is presently 8.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on META shares. Wedbush boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $680.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $680.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $750.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Wednesday. Roth Capital boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $580.00 to $620.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $655.00 to $690.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $696.45.

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.