Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Trading Down 4.5% After Insider Selling

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) shares fell 4.5% during mid-day trading on Thursday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $554.67 and last traded at $559.20. 7,731,409 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 47% from the average session volume of 14,645,962 shares. The stock had previously closed at $585.77.

Specifically, COO Javier Olivan sold 608 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $488.18, for a total transaction of $296,813.44. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 5,622 shares in the company, valued at $2,744,547.96. This trade represents a 9.76 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on META shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $610.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Raymond James reissued a “strong-buy” rating and set a $800.00 target price (up previously from $725.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $680.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $775.00 to $610.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $704.62.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 6.5 %

The stock has a market cap of $1.39 trillion, a PE ratio of 22.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a quick ratio of 2.98, a current ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $634.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $609.40.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced 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 net margin of 37.91% and a return on equity of 38.17%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $5.33 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.38%. 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 (DPR) is 8.78%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth $40,000. Avondale Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth about $41,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at about $43,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently 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.