Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Stock Price Down 1.3% After Insider Selling

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)’s stock price traded down 1.3% on Tuesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $499.67 and last traded at $499.82. 2,649,371 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 16,520,006 shares. The stock had previously closed at $506.63.

Specifically, Director Sheryl Sandberg sold 105,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $476.71, for a total value of $50,054,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 630,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $300,466,976.03. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 5,058 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $471.85, for a total transaction of $2,386,617.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 15,412 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,272,152.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Sheryl Sandberg sold 105,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $476.71, for a total transaction of $50,054,550.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 630,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $300,466,976.03. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 422,564 shares of company stock valued at $208,591,435 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $590.00 to $530.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $535.00 to $480.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Rosenblatt Securities raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $520.00 to $562.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $520.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, thirty-seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $510.41.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.68 and a quick ratio of 2.68. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $480.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $444.30. The stock has a market cap of $1.27 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.21.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.32 by $0.39. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.06% and a return on equity of 32.03%. The firm had revenue of $36.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.28 billion. On average, analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.40%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 11.49%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 527.3% in the 1st quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 625.0% during the 3rd quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 87 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 95.6% during the 1st quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 88 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter worth about $44,000. 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.