Insider Selling: Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Insider Sells 921 Shares of Stock

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) insider Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $531.22, for a total transaction of $489,253.62. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 28,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,096,741.18. This trade represents a 3.14 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

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

• On Tuesday, April 8th, Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $543.39, for a total value of $500,462.19.
• On Tuesday, April 1st, Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $570.66, for a total value of $525,577.86.
• On Tuesday, March 25th, Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $627.05, for a total value of $577,513.05.
• On Tuesday, March 18th, Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.25, for a total transaction of $552,830.25.
• On Tuesday, March 11th, Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $595.00, for a total transaction of $547,995.00.
• On Tuesday, March 4th, Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $644.00, for a total transaction of $593,124.00.
• On Tuesday, February 25th, Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $665.75, for a total value of $613,155.75.
• On Tuesday, February 18th, Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $736.07, for a total value of $677,920.47.
• On Tuesday, February 11th, Jennifer Newstead sold 902 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $713.32, for a total transaction of $643,414.64.
• On Tuesday, February 4th, Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $702.24, for a total transaction of $635,527.20.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $501.48 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.27 trillion, a P/E ratio of 20.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.28. The company’s 50-day moving average is $608.14 and its 200 day moving average is $607.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a current ratio of 2.98. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $414.50 and a fifty-two week high of $740.91.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.75 by $1.27. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 37.91% and a return on equity of 38.17%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.33 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.78%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 58,218 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $34,087,000 after buying an additional 808 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 140,585 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $82,314,000 after purchasing an additional 897 shares in the last quarter. Brueske Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth about $459,000. Apollon Financial LLC grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 11.1% during the 4th quarter. Apollon Financial LLC now owns 1,479 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $866,000 after buying an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 6,675,174 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $3,908,382,000 after buying an additional 110,040 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on META. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, January 27th. Guggenheim decreased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $675.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $775.00 to $610.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $583.00 to $627.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $684.10.

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.