Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Trading Down 2.6% After Insider Selling

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) dropped 2.6% during trading on Tuesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $608.23 and last traded at $613.61. Approximately 4,546,834 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 57% from the average daily volume of 10,568,646 shares. The stock had previously closed at $630.20.

Specifically, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 35,921 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $603.98, for a total value of $21,695,565.58. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $589.16, for a total value of $243,323.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 17,514 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,318,548.24. The trade was a 2.30 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $591.76, for a total value of $535,542.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 32,915 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,477,780.40. This trade represents a 2.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $670.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $645.00 to $705.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and set a $811.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $620.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Roth Mkm raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $620.00 to $635.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $645.80.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 2.6 %

The stock has a market cap of $1.55 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.19. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $590.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $550.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 2.73 and a current ratio of 2.73.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.19 by $0.84. The business had revenue of $40.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $40.21 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 35.60% and a net margin of 35.55%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast 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 was paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.42%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bank of New Hampshire raised its position in Meta Platforms by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New Hampshire now owns 1,007 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $590,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. ShankerValleau Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at about $361,000. Advance Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Meta Platforms by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Advance Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,042 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $610,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Fortem Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Fortem Financial Group LLC now owns 6,918 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $4,051,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares during the period. Finally, Insight Wealth Strategies LLC lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 1,067 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $625,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently 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.