Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Trading Down 0.2% on Insider Selling

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) was down 0.2% during mid-day trading on Tuesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $503.25 and last traded at $503.67. Approximately 2,858,882 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 15,773,845 shares. The stock had previously closed at $504.79.

Specifically, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $522.00, for a total transaction of $215,586.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 13,598 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,098,156. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $520.00, for a total value of $470,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 38,722 shares in the company, valued at $20,135,440. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $521.35, for a total transaction of $215,317.55. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 14,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,304,634.85. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on META shares. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $570.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $625.00 to $647.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $615.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Susquehanna upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $522.00 to $555.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, thirty-four have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $577.26.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 1.4 %

The company has a quick ratio of 2.83, a current ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $505.12 and its 200 day moving average price is $494.86. The firm has a market cap of $1.30 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.21.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.70 by $0.46. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 34.34% and a return on equity of 34.16%. The firm had revenue of $39.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.26 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.23 EPS. Meta Platforms’s revenue was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.39%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is currently 11.49%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Clear Investment Research LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 411.1% in the fourth quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 92 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 527.3% in the first quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the second quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 122.2% during the second quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 80 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in 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.