Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Insider Sells $538,475.00 in Stock

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $595.00, for a total transaction of $538,475.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 36,535 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,738,325. The trade was a 2.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

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

• On Tuesday, November 26th, Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $565.30, for a total transaction of $511,596.50.
• On Tuesday, November 5th, Jennifer Newstead sold 901 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $567.70, for a total value of $511,497.70.
• On Tuesday, October 29th, Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $580.10, for a total value of $524,990.50.
• On Tuesday, October 22nd, Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $574.70, for a total value of $520,103.50.
• On Tuesday, October 15th, Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $589.97, for a total value of $533,922.85.
• On Tuesday, October 8th, Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $589.89, for a total transaction of $533,850.45.
• On Tuesday, October 1st, Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were 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 stock was sold at an average price of $507.63, for a total value of $459,405.15.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

META traded down $4.85 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $608.93. 8,065,002 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 14,837,941. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.54 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a quick ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 2.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $317.04 and a 52-week high of $619.90. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $577.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $530.51.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.19 by $0.84. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 35.60% and a net margin of 35.55%. The business had revenue of $40.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $40.21 billion. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.68 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.33%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.42%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $570.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $620.00 to $660.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. JMP Securities raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $635.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $590.00 to $663.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $634.71.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of META. JDM Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the third quarter worth about $30,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the second quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 122.2% in 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 during the period. Finally, Halpern Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the third quarter worth $46,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.