Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Shares Down 0.3% Following Insider Selling

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) traded down 0.3% during trading on Wednesday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $700.88 and last traded at $702.33. 6,308,300 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 60% from the average session volume of 15,599,531 shares. The stock had previously closed at $704.19.

Specifically, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 12,975 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $696.23, for a total value of $9,033,584.25. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 197,996 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $137,850,755.08. The trade was a 6.15 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 12,975 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $706.72, for a total transaction of $9,169,692.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 172,046 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $121,588,349.12. This trade represents a 7.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $676.00, for a total transaction of $279,188.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 15,449 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,443,524. This represents a 2.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $720.00 to $790.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Scotiabank raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $583.00 to $627.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $770.00 target price (up from $700.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $710.00 to $765.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $710.83.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 0.4 %

The business’s 50-day moving average is $624.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $572.13. 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 firm has a market cap of $1.80 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.20.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 in the previous year, the firm earned $5.33 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 25.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.28%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.36%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of META. AMF Tjanstepension AB raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 32.5% in the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 457,092 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $261,680,000 after buying an additional 112,047 shares during the period. West Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter valued at $49,000. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 240,263 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $137,536,000 after purchasing an additional 15,212 shares during the last quarter. Abner Herrman & Brock LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.3% in the third quarter. Abner Herrman & Brock LLC now owns 16,366 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $9,369,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marcum Wealth LLC grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC now owns 6,448 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $3,691,000 after buying an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by 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.