Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Shares Down 1.2% After Insider Selling

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) dropped 1.2% on Wednesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $610.50 and last traded at $618.67. Approximately 4,437,466 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 68% from the average daily volume of 13,789,312 shares. The stock had previously closed at $626.31.

Specifically, COO Javier Olivan sold 608 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $614.97, for a total transaction of $373,901.76. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 6,838 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,205,164.86. The trade was a 8.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.25, for a total value of $552,830.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 32,103 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,269,825.75. This represents a 2.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

META has been the topic of several analyst reports. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $583.00 to $627.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $753.00 to $780.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $670.00 to $775.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Wolfe Research boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $670.00 to $730.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $770.00 target price (up from $700.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $718.31.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

The firm’s 50 day moving average is $655.95 and its 200 day moving average is $607.98. 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 stock has a market cap of $1.50 trillion, a P/E ratio of 24.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.23.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.75 by $1.27. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.17% and a net margin of 37.91%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $5.33 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is 8.78%.

Institutional Trading of Meta Platforms

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. JDM Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the third quarter worth about $30,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Avondale Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth $43,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Company Profile

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.