Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Insider Sells $511,497.70 in Stock

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) insider Jennifer Newstead sold 901 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $567.70, for a total transaction of $511,497.70. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 30,581 shares in the company, valued at $17,360,833.70. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

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

• On Tuesday, October 29th, Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $580.10, for a total value of $524,990.50.
• On Tuesday, October 22nd, Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $574.70, for a total value of $520,103.50.
• On Tuesday, October 15th, Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $589.97, for a total transaction of $533,922.85.
• On Tuesday, October 8th, Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $589.89, for a total transaction of $533,850.45.
• On Tuesday, October 1st, Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $578.55, for a total transaction of $523,587.75.
• On Tuesday, September 17th, Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $537.72, for a total value of $486,636.60.
• On Tuesday, September 10th, Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $507.63, for a total value of $459,405.15.
• On Tuesday, September 3rd, Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $520.00, for a total transaction of $470,600.00.
• On Tuesday, August 27th, Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $519.05, for a total transaction of $469,740.25.
• On Tuesday, August 20th, Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $528.38, for a total value of $478,183.90.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

NASDAQ:META traded up $19.65 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $591.70. The stock had a trading volume of 14,631,257 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,133,808. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.50 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.66, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 2.73 and a quick ratio of 2.73. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $313.66 and a 1-year high of $602.95. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $558.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $514.71.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.19 by $0.84. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 35.60% and a net margin of 35.55%. The company had revenue of $40.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $40.21 billion. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.34%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.42%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on META shares. KeyCorp raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $560.00 to $655.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Loop Capital upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $652.00 to $641.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Truist Financial increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $570.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $630.00 to $660.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $634.10.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 48.8% during the first quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 49,191 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $23,886,000 after acquiring an additional 16,138 shares during the period. Graypoint LLC raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 5.8% in the first quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 18,773 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $9,116,000 after purchasing an additional 1,033 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 27.5% during the 1st quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 575,938 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $279,663,000 after acquiring an additional 124,357 shares during the period. Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 8.6% during the 1st quarter. Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,941 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,428,000 after buying an additional 232 shares during the period. Finally, Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 32.0% in the first quarter. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,781 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,781,000 after purchasing an additional 1,401 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

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.