Insider Selling: Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) CFO Sells $10,320,386.20 in Stock

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) CFO Susan J. Li sold 18,644 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $553.55, for a total transaction of $10,320,386.20. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,769 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,888,979.95. The trade was a 28.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Meta Platforms stock opened at $563.09 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $313.66 and a 1-year high of $602.95. The company’s 50-day moving average is $572.05 and its 200 day moving average is $523.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.42 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.52, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.19 by $0.84. The company had revenue of $40.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $40.21 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 35.60% and a net margin of 35.55%. Research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.53 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.36%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.42%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on META shares. Needham & Company LLC reissued an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $605.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $640.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $645.00 to $705.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, DA Davidson assumed coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $600.00 target price for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $634.10.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. JDM Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the third quarter valued at $36,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the second quarter valued at about $38,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 122.2% in the second quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 80 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the period. Finally, Halpern Financial Inc. bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter worth about $46,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.