Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Shares Down 0.4% After Insider Selling

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) shares fell 0.4% during mid-day trading on Wednesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $665.67 and last traded at $671.73. 4,726,860 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 66% from the average session volume of 14,015,645 shares. The stock had previously closed at $674.33.

Specifically, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 22,366 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $648.68, for a total value of $14,508,376.88. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 580 shares in the company, valued at $376,234.40. This trade represents a 97.47 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 35,921 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $673.57, for a total value of $24,195,307.97. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $627.59, for a total value of $259,194.67. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 15,862 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,954,832.58. This trade represents a 2.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on META shares. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $670.00 to $775.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Bank of America increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $710.00 to $765.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $688.00 to $765.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Meta Platforms to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-six have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $706.76.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $611.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $564.44. The company has a quick ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 2.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.77 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.19.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.75 by $1.27. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 39.74% and a net margin of 37.91%. During the same period last year, the business earned $5.33 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 25.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.29%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.36%.

Institutional Trading of Meta Platforms

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. JDM Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Avondale Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth $41,000. Halpern Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the third quarter worth $46,000. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the third quarter valued at $49,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.