Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Trading Down 0.1% on Insider Selling

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)’s share price dropped 0.1% during mid-day trading on Wednesday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $494.54 and last traded at $495.74. Approximately 7,528,534 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 56% from the average daily volume of 17,004,471 shares. The stock had previously closed at $496.10.

Specifically, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 19,681 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $393.85, for a total value of $7,751,361.85. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 566 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $404.00, for a total transaction of $228,664.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 34,720 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,026,880. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 19,681 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $393.85, for a total value of $7,751,361.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,349,148 shares of company stock worth $649,552,559 in the last ninety days. 13.75% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on META shares. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $575.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $575.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $590.00 to $565.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $370.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $590.00 to $550.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, thirty-eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $509.18.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 10.6 %

The firm has a market cap of $1.13 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.20. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $495.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $403.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 2.67 and a current ratio of 2.67.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.32 by $0.39. The business had revenue of $36.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.28 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 29.48% and a net margin of 28.98%. On average, research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 22nd were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 21st. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is currently 13.42%.

Institutional Trading of Meta Platforms

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Stone House Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 625.0% in the third quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 87 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 68.9% in the third quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 103 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. PayPay Securities Corp grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 65.2% in the third quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 109 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. Finally, Clear Investment Research LLC grew its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 74 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

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.