Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Insider Sells $547,995.00 in Stock

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) insider Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $595.00, for a total transaction of $547,995.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 33,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,649,280. The trade was a 2.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

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

• On Tuesday, March 4th, Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $644.00, for a total transaction of $593,124.00.
• On Tuesday, February 25th, Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $665.75, for a total transaction of $613,155.75.
• On Tuesday, February 18th, Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $736.07, for a total transaction of $677,920.47.
• On Tuesday, February 11th, Jennifer Newstead sold 902 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $713.32, for a total transaction of $643,414.64.
• On Tuesday, February 4th, Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $702.24, for a total transaction of $635,527.20.
• On Tuesday, January 28th, Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $666.00, for a total transaction of $602,730.00.
• On Tuesday, January 21st, Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $618.00, for a total transaction of $559,290.00.
• On Tuesday, January 14th, Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $604.54, for a total transaction of $547,108.70.
• On Tuesday, January 7th, Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $631.55, for a total transaction of $571,552.75.
• On Tuesday, December 31st, Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $591.76, for a total transaction of $535,542.80.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

NASDAQ META opened at $590.64 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $414.50 and a 12 month high of $740.91. The stock has a market cap of $1.50 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.69, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.23. The company’s 50 day moving average is $657.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $602.00. The company has a current ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.75 by $1.27. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 37.91% and a return on equity of 38.17%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $5.33 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. This is a boost from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.36%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.78%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. JDM Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Avondale Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Susquehanna upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Argus set a $775.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $670.00 to $775.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $770.00 target price (up from $700.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $583.00 to $627.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $719.26.

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.