Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) CFO Susan J. Li Sells 8,950 Shares

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,950 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $526.76, for a total transaction of $4,714,502.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 74,579 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,285,234.04. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

META stock opened at $529.28 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.34 trillion, a PE ratio of 30.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a quick ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $501.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $489.45. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $276.03 and a 52-week high of $542.81.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.70 by $0.46. The firm had revenue of $39.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.26 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 34.34% and a return on equity of 34.16%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.23 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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 $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.38%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 11.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on META shares. Citigroup boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $580.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $480.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $522.00 to $555.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $563.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, thirty-three have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $574.41.

Institutional Trading of Meta Platforms

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of META. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Clear Investment Research LLC increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 411.1% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 527.3% in the 1st quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the second quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 122.2% during the second quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 80 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

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.