Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Insider Jennifer Newstead Sells 519 Shares

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $642.22, for a total transaction of $333,312.18. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 30,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,737,989.48. The trade was a 1.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

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

• On Tuesday, November 25th, Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $624.14, for a total value of $323,928.66.
• On Tuesday, November 18th, Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $591.60, for a total value of $307,040.40.
• On Monday, November 10th, Jennifer Newstead sold 516 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $631.00, for a total value of $325,596.00.
• On Tuesday, November 4th, Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $628.00, for a total value of $325,932.00.
• On Tuesday, October 28th, Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $753.00, for a total value 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 transaction of $372,112.62.
• On Tuesday, September 30th, Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were 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.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ META traded up $5.90 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $667.43. 2,880,434 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 15,481,555. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $674.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $705.81. The firm has a market cap of $1.68 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.44, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.28. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $479.80 and a 12 month high of $796.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a current ratio of 1.98.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The social networking company reported $7.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.74 by $0.51. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 30.89% and a return on equity of 39.35%. The company had revenue of $51.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $49.34 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $6.03 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be given a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 15th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.28%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on META. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday, November 24th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $800.00 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday. Monness Crespi & Hardt lowered their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $860.00 to $808.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $915.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Roth Capital restated a “buy” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $819.43.

Institutional Trading of Meta Platforms

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in META. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 34,551 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $20,230,000 after purchasing an additional 570 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,456 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $5,537,000 after buying an additional 875 shares during the period. Smart Money Group LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 20.4% in the 1st quarter. Smart Money Group LLC now owns 2,052 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,182,000 after buying an additional 348 shares in the last quarter. Aspire Growth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 7.3% during the 1st quarter. Aspire Growth Partners LLC now owns 662 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $395,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. Finally, Waddell & Associates LLC boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 5.0% during the 1st quarter. Waddell & Associates LLC now owns 2,508 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,446,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. 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.