Jennifer Newstead Sells 905 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Stock

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.57, for a total value of $453,015.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 37,845 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,944,071.65. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

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

• On Tuesday, June 25th, Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $496.99, for a total transaction of $449,775.95.
• On Tuesday, June 11th, Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $452,500.00.
• On Tuesday, June 4th, Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $477.00, for a total transaction of $431,685.00.
• On Tuesday, May 28th, Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $476.69, for a total value of $431,404.45.
• On Tuesday, May 21st, Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $467.57, for a total transaction of $423,150.85.
• On Tuesday, May 7th, Jennifer Newstead sold 576 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $466.33, for a total transaction of $268,606.08.
• On Tuesday, April 30th, Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $431.05, for a total value of $252,164.25.
• On Tuesday, April 23rd, Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $491.25, for a total transaction of $287,381.25.
• 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 transaction of $291,675.15.
• On Tuesday, April 9th, Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $522.00, for a total transaction of $305,370.00.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $539.91 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $274.38 and a one year high of $540.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.37 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.01, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $484.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $460.13. 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:META) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.32 by $0.39. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 32.03% and a net margin of 32.06%. The firm had revenue of $36.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.28 billion. On average, analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.15 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.37%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 11.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Meta Platforms from $585.00 to $540.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Raymond James boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Meta Platforms from $609.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $590.00 to $565.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $520.00 to $562.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Two investment analysts have 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $511.27.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Meta Platforms by 527.3% during the 1st quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 95.6% during the first quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 88 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the first quarter worth $44,000. Finally, Clear Investment Research LLC lifted its holdings in 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 during the period. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.