Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Shares Down 0.2% After Insider Selling

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) fell 0.2% during mid-day trading on Friday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $498.01 and last traded at $501.48. 14,540,656 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 2% from the average session volume of 14,827,047 shares. The stock had previously closed at $502.31.

Specifically, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $531.22, for a total value of $489,253.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 28,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,096,741.18. This represents a 3.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 608 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $556.45, for a total value of $338,321.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 5,014 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,790,040.30. The trade was a 10.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on META shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $610.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Pivotal Research lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Bank of America cut their price objective on Meta Platforms from $765.00 to $640.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Meta Platforms from $780.00 to $655.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Finally, Arete Research raised Meta Platforms to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. 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 given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $684.10.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 0.2 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a current ratio of 2.98. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $612.51 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $607.32. The company has a market capitalization of $1.27 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.28.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 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 last year, the firm earned $5.33 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.42%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.78%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,000. Avondale Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth $43,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth about $47,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.