Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Insider Jennifer Newstead Sells 905 Shares

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $520.00, for a total transaction of $470,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 38,722 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,135,440. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Jennifer Newstead also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, August 27th, Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $519.05, for a total transaction of $469,740.25.
• On Tuesday, August 20th, Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $528.38, for a total transaction of $478,183.90.
• On Friday, August 16th, Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $532.21, for a total value of $481,650.05.
• On Monday, August 5th, Jennifer Newstead sold 901 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $451.15, for a total value of $406,486.15.
• On Tuesday, July 23rd, Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $489.80, for a total value of $443,269.00.
• On Tuesday, July 16th, Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $501.42, for a total transaction of $453,785.10.
• On Tuesday, July 9th, Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $533.95, for a total transaction of $483,224.75.
• On Tuesday, July 2nd, Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.57, for a total transaction of $453,015.85.
• On Tuesday, June 25th, Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $496.99, for a total transaction of $449,775.95.
• On Tuesday, June 11th, Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $452,500.00.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of META traded up $4.12 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $516.86. 8,619,425 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 15,882,903. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $279.40 and a one year high of $544.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.83 and a quick ratio of 2.83. The firm has a market cap of $1.31 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.68, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.21. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $505.31 and a 200-day moving average of $493.77.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.70 by $0.46. The firm had revenue of $39.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.26 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 34.34% and a return on equity of 34.16%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.23 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.39%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 11.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on META shares. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $500.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Tigress Financial boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $575.00 to $645.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $630.00 to $635.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, thirty-three have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $576.66.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Clear Investment Research LLC increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 411.1% in the fourth quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 92 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the period. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 527.3% during the first quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 122.2% in the 2nd quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 80 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.