Jennifer Newstead Sells 905 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Stock

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.57, for a total value of $453,015.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 37,845 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,944,071.65. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Jennifer Newstead also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, June 25th, Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $496.99, for a total value of $449,775.95.
• On Tuesday, June 11th, Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $452,500.00.
• On Tuesday, June 4th, Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $477.00, for a total transaction of $431,685.00.
• On Tuesday, May 28th, Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $476.69, for a total transaction of $431,404.45.
• On Tuesday, May 21st, Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $467.57, for a total value of $423,150.85.
• On Tuesday, May 7th, Jennifer Newstead sold 576 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $466.33, for a total value of $268,606.08.
• On Tuesday, April 30th, Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $431.05, for a total value of $252,164.25.
• On Tuesday, April 23rd, Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $491.25, for a total transaction of $287,381.25.
• On Tuesday, April 16th, Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $498.59, for a total transaction of $291,675.15.
• On Tuesday, April 9th, Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $522.00, for a total transaction of $305,370.00.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of Meta Platforms stock opened at $509.96 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $482.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $458.78. The stock has a market cap of $1.29 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.29, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.21. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $274.38 and a 12-month high of $531.49.

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

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC raised 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 purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 95.6% in the first quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 88 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, Clear Investment Research LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 411.1% during the fourth quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 92 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Wedbush reduced their target price on Meta Platforms from $570.00 to $480.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $520.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $590.00 to $530.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $575.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Wolfe Research dropped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, thirty-seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $511.27.

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.