Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Shares Down 2.3% Following Insider Selling

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) was down 2.3% on Wednesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $695.39 and last traded at $699.85. Approximately 7,763,585 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 50% from the average daily volume of 15,522,717 shares. The stock had previously closed at $716.37.

Specifically, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 19,668 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $734.49, for a total value of $14,445,949.32. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 902 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $713.32, for a total transaction of $643,414.64. Following the sale, the insider now owns 27,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,607,740.16. This trade represents a 3.18 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $620.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Bank of America raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $710.00 to $765.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Needham & Company LLC reissued an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $717.90.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 2.3 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.98 and a quick ratio of 2.98. The stock has a market cap of $1.77 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.26, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.20. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $643.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $587.57.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period last year, the company posted $5.33 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.66 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.30%. This is a positive change from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.36%.

Institutional Trading of Meta Platforms

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in META. Valley Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Valley Financial Group Inc. now owns 588 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $344,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the period. Lantern Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Lantern Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,976 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,743,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the period. Seelaus Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC now owns 1,640 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $960,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Meredith Wealth Planning boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Meredith Wealth Planning now owns 1,873 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,097,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Maiden Cove Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Maiden Cove Capital LLC now owns 481 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $282,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

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.