Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Insider Sells $511,497.70 in Stock

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) insider Jennifer Newstead sold 901 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $567.70, for a total transaction of $511,497.70. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 30,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,360,833.70. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

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

• On Tuesday, October 29th, Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $580.10, for a total value of $524,990.50.
• On Tuesday, October 22nd, Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $574.70, for a total value of $520,103.50.
• On Tuesday, October 15th, Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $589.97, for a total value of $533,922.85.
• On Tuesday, October 8th, Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $589.89, for a total transaction of $533,850.45.
• On Tuesday, October 1st, Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $578.55, for a total transaction of $523,587.75.
• On Tuesday, September 17th, Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $537.72, for a total transaction of $486,636.60.
• On Tuesday, September 10th, Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $507.63, for a total value of $459,405.15.
• On Tuesday, September 3rd, Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $520.00, for a total value of $470,600.00.
• On Tuesday, August 27th, Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $519.05, for a total value of $469,740.25.
• On Tuesday, August 20th, Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $528.38, for a total value of $478,183.90.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 0.4 %

NASDAQ:META opened at $589.34 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $1.49 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 2.73 and a current ratio of 2.73. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $561.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $516.13. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $313.66 and a 52-week high of $602.95.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.19 by $0.84. The business had revenue of $40.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $40.21 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 35.60% and a net margin of 35.55%. On average, analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.53 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.42%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 48.8% in the first quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 49,191 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $23,886,000 after purchasing an additional 16,138 shares during the last quarter. Graypoint LLC increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 5.8% in the 1st quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 18,773 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $9,116,000 after acquiring an additional 1,033 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 27.5% in the 1st quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 575,938 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $279,663,000 after acquiring an additional 124,357 shares during the period. Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 8.6% during the 1st quarter. Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,941 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,428,000 after acquiring an additional 232 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 32.0% during the first quarter. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,781 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,781,000 after purchasing an additional 1,401 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on META shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $555.00 to $636.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $620.00 to $660.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Bank of America boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $630.00 to $660.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $575.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $634.10.

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.