Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Stock Falls 1.2% on Insider Selling

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)’s share price dropped 1.2% during trading on Wednesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $609.00 and last traded at $612.49. 34,310,399 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 91% from the average daily volume of 17,938,561 shares. The stock had previously closed at $620.19.

Specifically, COO Javier Olivan sold 629 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $640.00, for a total value of $402,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 890 shares in the company, valued at $569,600. This represents a 41.41% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 946 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $640.00, for a total transaction of $605,440.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 5,040 shares in the company, valued at $3,225,600. The trade was a 15.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Loop Capital upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $740.00 to $955.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. Tigress Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $945.00 target price (down from $995.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, September 24th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $930.00 to $950.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 25th. Yorkville Ives initiated coverage on Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $900.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane decreased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $955.00 to $855.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $833.12.

Key Stories Impacting Meta Platforms

Here are the key news stories impacting Meta Platforms this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Meta settled a teen lawsuit alleging that Instagram and Facebook contributed to addiction, depression and eating disorders. Financial terms were not disclosed, but the agreement removes Meta from an upcoming Los Angeles trial and reduces near-term litigation uncertainty. Reuters settlement report
• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s advertising fundamentals remain strong: recent coverage cited higher ad pricing, rising impressions, improved AI-driven ad conversions and strong engagement. Analysts also see meaningful upside, with one fair-value estimate raised from $813.65 to $848.38 per share. Meta fair value report
• Positive Sentiment: Meta expanded its relationship with Advanced Micro Devices, including a $1 billion equity investment and multi-generation chip co-design for Meta’s AI data centers. The deal may improve access to computing capacity and supplier diversification. AMD and Meta partnership report

Meta Platforms Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $668.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $632.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.57 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.19.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 22nd. The social networking company reported $7.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.54 by $0.86. The company had revenue of $64.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.34 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 30.73% and a net margin of 31.15%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 26.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $7.25 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.98 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 28th. Investors of record on Monday, September 21st were given a dividend of $0.5250 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 21st. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.16%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Fairtree Asset Management Pty Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 18.6% in the second quarter. Fairtree Asset Management Pty Ltd now owns 18,777 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $10,577,000 after buying an additional 2,939 shares in the last quarter. Madison Wealth Partners Inc raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 33.6% in the 2nd quarter. Madison Wealth Partners Inc now owns 3,031 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,707,000 after buying an additional 763 shares during the period. William John Sempolinski purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the second quarter valued at about $3,107,000. Sone Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 38.2% during the second quarter. Sone Capital Management LLC now owns 16,059 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $9,046,000 after acquiring an additional 4,440 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lakewood Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 63.7% during the 2nd quarter. Lakewood Capital Management LP now owns 115,985 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $65,333,000 after buying an additional 45,130 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Company Profile

Meta Platforms, Inc is a technology company that develops social networking, messaging, virtual and augmented reality, and artificial intelligence products. The company’s principal platforms include Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp, and Threads, which enable users to connect, communicate, share content, and discover products and services.

Meta also operates Reality Labs, its division focused on virtual, augmented, and mixed reality technologies. Reality Labs develops products such as Meta Quest virtual reality headsets and related software and experiences, along with research and hardware intended to support immersive computing.