Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Shares Down 3.7% After Insider Selling

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)’s share price dropped 3.7% on Friday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $494.20 and last traded at $511.83. Approximately 13,579,421 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 6% from the average daily volume of 14,384,515 shares. The stock had previously closed at $531.62.

Specifically, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $570.66, for a total value of $525,577.86. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 30,261 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,268,742.26. This trade represents a 2.95 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 608 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $563.03, for a total transaction of $342,322.24. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 6,230 shares in the company, valued at $3,507,676.90. This represents a 8.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on META shares. Pivotal Research lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Mizuho upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Raymond James reissued a “strong-buy” rating and set a $800.00 price objective (up previously from $725.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $630.00 to $705.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $718.55.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 5.1 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.28 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.98 and a quick ratio of 2.98. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $648.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $609.75.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 last year, the company posted $5.33 earnings per share. 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.525 dividend. This is an increase from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is currently 8.78%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in META. Norges Bank bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $19,949,512,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 78,471.1% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,248,763 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $3,658,713,000 after acquiring an additional 6,240,810 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,243,603,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 13.5% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 23,445,565 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $13,727,613,000 after acquiring an additional 2,787,832 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at $1,162,918,000. Institutional investors 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.