Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Stock Price Down 2.6% Following Insider Selling

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) shares were down 2.6% during trading on Tuesday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $590.74 and last traded at $592.50. Approximately 5,251,927 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 56% from the average daily volume of 11,884,012 shares. The stock had previously closed at $608.33.

Specifically, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 12,975 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $615.41, for a total transaction of $7,984,944.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 381,290 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $234,649,678.90. This trade represents a 3.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $631.55, for a total transaction of $571,552.75. Following the sale, the insider now owns 32,010 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,215,915.50. The trade was a 2.75 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In other news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 12,975 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $618.42, for a total transaction of $8,023,999.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 420,215 shares in the company, valued at $259,869,360.30. This represents a 3.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on META. Raymond James reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $675.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, November 25th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $715.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $665.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $620.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have issued 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 an average price target of $650.05.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 2.73 and a current ratio of 2.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.50 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.19. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $594.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $554.18.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.19 by $0.84. The business had revenue of $40.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $40.21 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 35.55% and a return on equity of 35.60%. As a group, analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.34%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.42%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. First Community Trust NA boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. First Community Trust NA now owns 7,970 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $4,667,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Clarus Wealth Advisors boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 14.3% during the fourth quarter. Clarus Wealth Advisors now owns 1,813 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,103,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 241.7% during the fourth quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 7,640 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $4,473,000 after purchasing an additional 5,404 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 23.4% during the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 79,419 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $46,501,000 after purchasing an additional 15,067 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kathmere Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 15.6% during the fourth quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 3,808 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,230,000 after acquiring an additional 515 shares during the last quarter. 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.