Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Trading Down 0.2% on Insider Selling

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) dropped 0.2% during mid-day trading on Tuesday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $503.25 and last traded at $503.67. Approximately 2,858,882 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 15,773,845 shares. The stock had previously closed at $504.79.

Specifically, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $522.00, for a total value of $215,586.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 13,598 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,098,156. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $520.00, for a total value of $470,600.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 38,722 shares in the company, valued at $20,135,440. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $521.35, for a total transaction of $215,317.55. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 14,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,304,634.85. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

META has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. DA Davidson assumed coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price objective for the company. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $570.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. TD Securities lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $600.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Susquehanna upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, thirty-four have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $577.26.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 1.4 %

The company has a market cap of $1.30 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a current ratio of 2.83, a quick ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $505.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $494.86.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.70 by $0.46. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 34.16% and a net margin of 34.34%. The company had revenue of $39.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.26 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.23 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.39%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 11.49%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 24.2% in the 4th quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 835,972 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $295,901,000 after purchasing an additional 163,067 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 3,576,285 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,265,862,000 after buying an additional 51,900 shares during the period. Voyager Global Management LP lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 37.3% during the 4th quarter. Voyager Global Management LP now owns 515,000 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $182,289,000 after acquiring an additional 140,000 shares in the last quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC now owns 166,403 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $58,900,000 after acquiring an additional 7,415 shares during the period. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms by 8.9% in the second quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 72,587 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $36,600,000 after acquiring an additional 5,953 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.