Insider Selling: Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Insider Sells 519 Shares of Stock

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $628.00, for a total transaction of $325,932.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 27,237 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,104,836. This represents a 1.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

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

• On Tuesday, October 28th, Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $753.00, for a total transaction of $390,807.00.
• On Tuesday, October 21st, Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $736.37, for a total transaction of $382,176.03.
• On Tuesday, October 14th, Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $707.85, for a total transaction of $367,374.15.
• On Tuesday, October 7th, Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $716.98, for a total value of $372,112.62.
• On Tuesday, September 30th, Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $741.50, for a total value of $384,838.50.
• On Tuesday, September 23rd, Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $769.20, for a total value of $399,214.80.
• On Tuesday, September 16th, Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $767.16, for a total value of $398,156.04.
• On Tuesday, September 9th, Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $757.50, for a total value of $393,142.50.
• On Tuesday, September 2nd, Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $726.25, for a total value of $376,923.75.
• On Tuesday, August 26th, Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $750.47, for a total value of $389,493.93.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 2.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:META traded down $17.01 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $618.94. The stock had a trading volume of 23,516,929 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,147,481. The firm has a market cap of $1.55 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.20. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $731.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $700.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $479.80 and a twelve month high of $796.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The social networking company reported $7.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.74 by $0.51. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 30.89% and a return on equity of 39.35%. The firm had revenue of $51.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $49.34 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $6.03 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.2% on a year-over-year basis. Meta Platforms has set its Q4 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 29th. Investors of record on Monday, September 22nd were given a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 22nd. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.28%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on META. Barclays reduced their target price on Meta Platforms from $810.00 to $770.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Meta Platforms from $950.00 to $910.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $920.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. UBS Group increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $915.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $800.00 price target (up previously from $725.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-seven have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $827.60.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 34,551 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $20,230,000 after buying an additional 570 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,456 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $5,537,000 after buying an additional 875 shares during the last quarter. 1776 Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 137.2% during the first quarter. 1776 Wealth LLC now owns 1,167 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $673,000 after buying an additional 675 shares during the last quarter. Smart Money Group LLC raised its position in Meta Platforms by 20.4% during the first quarter. Smart Money Group LLC now owns 2,052 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,182,000 after acquiring an additional 348 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aviance Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 9.0% in the first quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 22,412 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $12,917,000 after acquiring an additional 1,850 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.