Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Trading Down 1.2% – Time to Sell?

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) shares dropped 1.2% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $595.40 and last traded at $602.01. Approximately 16,392,001 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 7% from the average daily volume of 15,325,323 shares. The stock had previously closed at $609.46.

Analyst Ratings Changes

META has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $685.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $810.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $900.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Benchmark lowered shares of Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Loop Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $980.00 target price (up previously from $888.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-seven have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $827.60.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a current ratio of 1.98. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $713.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $706.28. The company has a market capitalization of $1.52 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.20.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The social networking company reported $7.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.74 by $0.51. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 39.35% and a net margin of 30.89%.The business had revenue of $51.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $49.34 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $6.03 EPS. Meta Platforms’s revenue was up 26.2% on a year-over-year basis. Meta Platforms has set its Q4 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 22nd were paid a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 22nd. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is currently 9.28%.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 516 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $631.00, for a total transaction of $325,596.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 26,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,860,951. This trade represents a 1.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 465 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $716.97, for a total transaction of $333,391.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 7,947 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,697,760.59. This trade represents a 5.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 13,359 shares of company stock valued at $9,689,566. 13.61% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Westchester Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Bare Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC raised its position in Meta Platforms by 237.5% in the 2nd quarter. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC now owns 54 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Briaud Financial Planning Inc acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter worth $42,000. 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.