Insider Selling: Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) CTO Sells $8,162,353.38 in Stock

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 14,746 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $553.53, for a total value of $8,162,353.38. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Andrew Bosworth also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, November 15th, Andrew Bosworth sold 5,057 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $577.16, for a total value of $2,918,698.12.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $563.09 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 2.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The firm has a market cap of $1.42 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.52, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.22. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $572.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $523.31. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $313.66 and a 12-month high of $602.95.

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

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.36%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 9.42%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in Meta Platforms by 57,001.5% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 9,517,111 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $5,447,975,000 after purchasing an additional 9,500,444 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in shares of 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 worth $16,799,612,000 after acquiring an additional 4,379,826 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 61,769.3% in the 3rd quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC now owns 4,132,870 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,365,820,000 after acquiring an additional 4,126,190 shares during the period. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter valued at $595,152,000. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 4,658.5% during the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 909,548 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $520,662,000 after purchasing an additional 890,434 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on META shares. Benchmark reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $652.00 to $641.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $640.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $575.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $634.10.

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.