Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Shares Down 1.2% After Insider Selling

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)’s share price dropped 1.2% on Wednesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $610.50 and last traded at $618.67. Approximately 4,437,466 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 68% from the average daily volume of 13,789,312 shares. The stock had previously closed at $626.31.

Specifically, COO Javier Olivan sold 608 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $614.97, for a total value of $373,901.76. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 6,838 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,205,164.86. This represents a 8.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.25, for a total value of $552,830.25. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 32,103 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,269,825.75. The trade was a 2.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $660.00 to $725.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $583.00 to $627.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $685.00 to $752.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “buy” rating and set a $811.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Argus set a $775.00 price target on Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $718.31.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 0.8 %

The company has a current ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The business has a 50 day moving average of $655.95 and a 200-day moving average of $607.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.51 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.06, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.23.

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

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.35%. This is a boost from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.78%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 191,198,005 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $111,948,344,000 after acquiring an additional 1,502,553 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 49,181,127 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $28,719,970,000 after purchasing an additional 1,020,519 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 42,317,434 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $24,777,282,000 after purchasing an additional 1,049,121 shares during the period. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 40,317,105 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $23,606,338,000 after buying an additional 1,141,355 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at about $19,949,512,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.