Insider Selling: Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Insider Sells $287,381.25 in Stock

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $491.25, for a total value of $287,381.25. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 37,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,288,255. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

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

• 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 value 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 value of $305,370.00.
• On Tuesday, April 2nd, Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $485.00, for a total value of $283,725.00.
• On Tuesday, March 26th, Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.29, for a total value of $295,594.65.
• On Tuesday, March 19th, Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $488.50, for a total value of $285,772.50.
• On Tuesday, March 12th, Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $493.75, for a total value of $288,843.75.
• On Tuesday, March 5th, Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $495.00, for a total value of $289,575.00.
• On Tuesday, February 27th, Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $480.00, for a total value of $280,800.00.
• On Tuesday, February 20th, Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $469.88, for a total value of $274,879.80.
• On Tuesday, February 6th, Jennifer Newstead sold 552 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $464.00, for a total value of $256,128.00.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META stock opened at $443.29 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $494.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $404.85. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $229.85 and a one year high of $531.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.13 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.46, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.68 and a quick ratio of 2.67.

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%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 21st. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 11.49%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. S.A. Mason LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. S.A. Mason LLC now owns 1,328 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $645,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN now owns 1,057 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $513,000 after buying an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 5.3% during the first quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 435 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $211,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. LongView Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.3% during the first quarter. LongView Wealth Management now owns 1,762 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $856,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. Finally, Madison Wealth Partners Inc raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Madison Wealth Partners Inc now owns 1,417 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $502,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on META shares. Barclays decreased their price target on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $520.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price target on Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $575.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $450.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price target on Meta Platforms from $590.00 to $565.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on Meta Platforms from $590.00 to $550.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, thirty-seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $509.18.

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.