Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Insider Jennifer Newstead Sells 905 Shares

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $618.00, for a total value of $559,290.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 35,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,019,340. This trade represents a 2.48 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

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

• On Tuesday, December 3rd, Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $595.00, for a total value of $538,475.00.
• On Tuesday, November 26th, Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $565.30, for a total transaction of $511,596.50.
• On Tuesday, November 5th, Jennifer Newstead sold 901 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $567.70, for a total transaction of $511,497.70.
• On Tuesday, October 29th, Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $580.10, for a total transaction of $524,990.50.
• On Tuesday, October 22nd, Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $574.70, for a total transaction of $520,103.50.
• On Tuesday, October 15th, Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were 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 stock was sold at an average price of $589.89, for a total value of $533,850.45.
• On Tuesday, October 1st, Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $578.55, for a total value of $523,587.75.
• On Tuesday, September 17th, Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $537.72, for a total transaction of $486,636.60.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Meta Platforms stock opened at $620.35 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.57 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $583.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $537.82. The company has a current ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 2.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $328.64 and a 12-month high of $638.40.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.19 by $0.84. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 35.60% and a net margin of 35.55%. The company had revenue of $40.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $40.21 billion. Equities analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.32%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.42%.

Institutional Trading of Meta Platforms

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 48,160,608 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $27,470,870,000 after purchasing an additional 698,884 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 14,440,868 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $8,266,531,000 after purchasing an additional 263,063 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,827,565 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $7,915,451,000 after purchasing an additional 118,298 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 57,001.5% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 9,517,111 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $5,447,975,000 after buying an additional 9,500,444 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Meta Platforms by 2.8% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,754,450 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $3,911,029,000 after buying an additional 208,677 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

META has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $630.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Scotiabank reduced their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $585.00 to $583.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Guggenheim upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $665.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Needham & Company LLC reissued an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Susquehanna upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $635.20.

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.