Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Insider Sells $593,124.00 in Stock

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) insider Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $644.00, for a total value of $593,124.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,945 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,860,580. This represents a 2.64 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

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

• On Tuesday, February 25th, Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $665.75, for a total value of $613,155.75.
• On Tuesday, February 18th, Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $736.07, for a total transaction of $677,920.47.
• On Tuesday, February 11th, Jennifer Newstead sold 902 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $713.32, for a total transaction of $643,414.64.
• On Tuesday, February 4th, Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $702.24, for a total transaction of $635,527.20.
• On Tuesday, January 28th, Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $666.00, for a total transaction of $602,730.00.
• On Tuesday, January 21st, Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $618.00, for a total value of $559,290.00.
• On Tuesday, January 14th, Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $604.54, for a total transaction of $547,108.70.
• On Tuesday, January 7th, Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $631.55, for a total transaction of $571,552.75.
• On Tuesday, December 31st, Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $591.76, for a total value of $535,542.80.
• On Tuesday, December 24th, Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $602.47, for a total value of $545,235.35.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 4.3 %

Shares of META opened at $627.93 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $656.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $599.31. The stock has a market cap of $1.59 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a quick ratio of 2.98, a current ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $414.50 and a 52-week high of $740.91.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.75 by $1.27. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 37.91% and a return on equity of 38.17%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $5.33 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.33%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.78%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. JDM Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the third quarter worth $30,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the third quarter worth about $36,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Avondale Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on META shares. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $720.00 to $790.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $583.00 to $627.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $770.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Pivotal Research increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $719.26.

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.