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

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)’s stock price traded down 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. 2,858,882 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 15,773,845 shares. The stock had previously closed at $504.79.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

META has been the topic of several research reports. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $450.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $522.00 to $555.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Roth Mkm raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $510.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, thirty-four have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $577.26.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $505.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $494.86. The firm has a market cap of $1.30 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.83 and a quick ratio of 2.83.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.70 by $0.46. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 34.16% and a net margin of 34.34%. The business had revenue of $39.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.26 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.23 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Trading of Meta Platforms

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in META. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 187,180,393 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $90,891,055,000 after buying an additional 831,047 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 38,299,316 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $18,597,382,000 after purchasing an additional 244,803 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 34,738,470 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $12,296,383,000 after purchasing an additional 1,083,719 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 14.5% in the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 34,597,001 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $16,799,612,000 after buying an additional 4,379,826 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth about $11,285,855,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.