Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Trading Down 2.3% Following Insider Selling

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) shares traded down 2.3% during mid-day trading on Tuesday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $715.10 and last traded at $720.09. 8,155,055 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 47% from the average session volume of 15,340,724 shares. The stock had previously closed at $736.67.

Specifically, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 19,668 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $734.49, for a total transaction of $14,445,949.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 902 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $713.32, for a total transaction of $643,414.64. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 27,488 shares in the company, valued at $19,607,740.16. This represents a 3.18 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In other news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 35,795 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $715.82, for a total value of $25,622,776.90. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on META shares. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $630.00 to $705.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Benchmark upgraded shares of Meta Platforms from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $820.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $753.00 to $780.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $680.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Wolfe Research upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $670.00 to $730.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $717.90.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $643.13 and a two-hundred day moving average of $587.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a current ratio of 2.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.81 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.20.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.75 by $1.27. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.17% and a net margin of 37.91%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.33 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.29%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.36%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of META. JDM Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth $40,000. Avondale Wealth Management bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth $41,000. Finally, WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth $43,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.