Jennifer Newstead Sells 519 Shares of Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Stock

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Monday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $775.00, for a total transaction of $402,225.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 32,946 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,533,150. The trade was a 1.55% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Jennifer Newstead also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, August 5th, Jennifer Newstead sold 515 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $776.38, for a total transaction of $399,835.70.
• On Tuesday, July 29th, Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $719.86, for a total transaction of $373,607.34.
• On Tuesday, July 22nd, Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $716.10, for a total transaction of $371,655.90.
• On Tuesday, July 15th, Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $723.08, for a total transaction of $375,278.52.
• On Tuesday, July 8th, Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $721.57, for a total transaction of $374,494.83.
• On Tuesday, July 1st, Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $737.00, for a total transaction of $382,503.00.
• On Tuesday, June 24th, Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $704.89, for a total transaction of $365,837.91.
• On Tuesday, June 17th, Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $701.99, for a total transaction of $364,332.81.
• On Tuesday, June 10th, Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $701.00, for a total transaction of $363,819.00.
• On Tuesday, June 3rd, Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $671.00, for a total transaction of $348,249.00.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $747.72 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.97, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $727.95 and a 200-day moving average price of $657.05. The company has a market cap of $1.88 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.27. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $479.80 and a 12 month high of $796.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The social networking company reported $7.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.75 by $1.39. The company had revenue of $47.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $44.55 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 39.99% and a return on equity of 39.33%. Meta Platforms’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $5.16 earnings per share. Meta Platforms has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on META shares. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $780.00 to $860.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Needham & Company LLC raised shares of Meta Platforms from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Benchmark increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $890.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Moffett Nathanson raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $822.41.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in META. Tull Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $237,000. North Dallas Bank & Trust Co. purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the second quarter valued at $2,986,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 6.2% during the second quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 18,318 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $13,520,000 after buying an additional 1,065 shares during the last quarter. MRP Capital Investments LLC raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.6% during the second quarter. MRP Capital Investments LLC now owns 5,090 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $3,757,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Delos Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the second quarter valued at $75,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.