Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Stock Price Down 1.6% After Insider Selling

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) shares traded down 1.6% during mid-day trading on Monday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $493.17 and last traded at $496.08. 4,256,664 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 74% from the average session volume of 16,347,370 shares. The stock had previously closed at $504.22.

Specifically, COO Javier Olivan sold 490 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $516.51, for a total transaction of $253,089.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 8,069 shares in the company, valued at $4,167,719.19. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 490 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Friday, April 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $516.51, for a total transaction of $253,089.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 8,069 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,167,719.19. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $522.00, for a total transaction of $305,370.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 38,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,043,756. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 218,086 shares of company stock worth $106,423,370. Insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on META. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $540.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $575.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Wolfe Research reduced their target price on Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 25th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $550.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $520.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, thirty-seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $511.27.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 1.0 %

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $480.72 and a 200 day moving average of $458.05. The company has a market cap of $1.29 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a current ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.32 by $0.39. The firm had revenue of $36.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.28 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 32.03% and a net margin of 32.06%. On average, analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 11.49%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Meta Platforms by 527.3% in the 1st quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 95.6% during the first quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 88 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, Clear Investment Research LLC increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 411.1% during the 4th quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 92 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.