Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Stock Price Down 0.1% Following Insider Selling

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:METAGet Free Report) shares were down 0.1% during trading on Friday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $513.56 and last traded at $519.07. Approximately 2,655,123 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 16,338,425 shares. The stock had previously closed at $519.56.

Specifically, Director Sheryl Sandberg sold 105,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $476.71, for a total value of $50,054,550.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 630,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $300,466,976.03. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, Director Sheryl Sandberg sold 105,000 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $476.71, for a total transaction of $50,054,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 630,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $300,466,976.03. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,951 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $471.85, for a total transaction of $4,223,529.35. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 74,580 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,190,573. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 233,512 shares of company stock worth $113,597,536. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their target price on Meta Platforms from $590.00 to $565.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $570.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $535.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $450.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Finally, JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $550.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, thirty-seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $510.05.

Check Out Our Latest Research Report on Meta Platforms

Meta Platforms Price Performance

The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $479.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $452.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.31 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.81, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 2.68 and a current ratio of 2.68.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:METAGet Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.32 by $0.39. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 32.03% and a net margin of 32.06%. The business had revenue of $36.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.28 billion. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quent Capital LLC lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 8.4% during the first quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 5,675 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,756,000 after purchasing an additional 438 shares during the last quarter. Old Port Advisors lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Old Port Advisors now owns 2,535 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,231,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. HM Payson & Co. grew its position in Meta Platforms by 8.1% in the first quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 93,423 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $45,365,000 after acquiring an additional 7,007 shares during the last quarter. Chelsea Counsel Co. bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the first quarter valued at about $194,000. Finally, Mosaic Family Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 3.1% during the first quarter. Mosaic Family Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,352 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $656,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Company Profile

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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.

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