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

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $589.97, for a total value of $533,922.85. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 33,292 shares in the company, valued at $19,641,281.24. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

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

• On Tuesday, October 8th, Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $589.89, for a total value of $533,850.45.
• On Tuesday, October 1st, Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $578.55, for a total transaction of $523,587.75.
• On Tuesday, September 17th, Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $537.72, for a total transaction of $486,636.60.
• On Tuesday, September 10th, Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $507.63, for a total transaction of $459,405.15.
• On Tuesday, September 3rd, Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $520.00, for a total transaction of $470,600.00.
• On Tuesday, August 27th, Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $519.05, for a total value of $469,740.25.
• On Tuesday, August 20th, Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $528.38, for a total value of $478,183.90.
• On Friday, August 16th, Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $532.21, for a total transaction of $481,650.05.
• On Monday, August 5th, Jennifer Newstead sold 901 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $451.15, for a total transaction of $406,486.15.
• On Tuesday, July 23rd, Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $489.80, for a total transaction of $443,269.00.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $576.93 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $279.40 and a one year high of $602.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.46 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.14, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $545.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $508.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 2.83 and a current ratio of 2.83.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.70 by $0.46. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 34.16% and a net margin of 34.34%. The firm had revenue of $39.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.26 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.23 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.37 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 11.49%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on META shares. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $555.00 to $636.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. TD Securities raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $600.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $647.00 to $652.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $580.00 to $645.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Tigress Financial increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $575.00 to $645.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $617.37.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bath Savings Trust Co acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter worth approximately $218,000. jvl associates llc grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 6.9% during the first quarter. jvl associates llc now owns 777 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $377,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Emprise Bank acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the first quarter worth $1,801,000. Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc. raised its position in Meta Platforms by 13.8% in the first quarter. Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc. now owns 15,055 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $7,310,000 after acquiring an additional 1,830 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Abner Herrman & Brock LLC lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 39.2% in the first quarter. Abner Herrman & Brock LLC now owns 15,990 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $7,764,000 after acquiring an additional 4,499 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is 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.