Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Trading Down 5.4% Following Insider Selling

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) was down 5.4% on Wednesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $566.19 and last traded at $567.58. 19,892,483 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 22% from the average session volume of 16,246,023 shares. The stock had previously closed at $600.21.

Specifically, COO Javier Olivan sold 1,258 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.00, for a total transaction of $754,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 1,973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,183,800. The trade was a 38.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 140 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.00, for a total transaction of $84,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 12,846 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,707,600. The trade was a 1.08% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on META. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $760.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Susquehanna raised Meta Platforms from a “positive” rating to a “positive” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Wolfe Research cut their target price on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Wedbush upgraded Meta Platforms from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $775.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have issued a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $840.60.

More Meta Platforms News

Here are the key news stories impacting Meta Platforms this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Meta is expanding its AI infrastructure, signing new computing deals with data-center firm Crusoe to secure more AI capacity, which supports its long-term AI rollout and spending plans. Reuters: Meta signs new AI computing deals with data center firm Crusoe
• Positive Sentiment: Meta continues to advance AI-related products and partnerships, including new AI features for Facebook creators and a strategic data-center project in India, reinforcing the company’s growth narrative around AI monetization. Insider Monkey: Meta rolls out new AI features on Facebook
• Positive Sentiment: Some market commentary remains constructive on Meta’s AI strategy and data-center expansion, suggesting investors still see upside from its huge AI spending program. Insider Monkey: Meta a top growth stock to buy
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta remains a major beneficiary of the AI buildout across the broader tech sector, but that theme is already well known and may be more of a long-term support than a near-term catalyst. Proactive Investors: Does Nvidia hold the key to Meta’s glasses gamble?
• Neutral Sentiment: Insider selling by COO Javier Olivan was disclosed, but it was done under a pre-arranged 10b5-1 plan, so it is less likely to be interpreted as a strong negative signal. InsiderTrades: Meta Platforms COO sells stock
• Negative Sentiment: The Washington state Supreme Court upheld a $35 million campaign finance penalty against Meta, adding another legal overhang for the company. Yahoo News: Washington high court upholds $35 million campaign finance penalty against Meta
• Negative Sentiment: Reuters also reported Meta is lobbying Congress for protection from child-harm lawsuits, highlighting ongoing litigation risk around its social platforms. Reuters: Meta lobbies Congress for protection from child-harm lawsuits
• Negative Sentiment: Sentiment was further hurt by reports that Meta’s head of product for its “AI for work” effort is leaving, raising concerns about execution during a major AI transition. Reuters: Meta head of product for ‘AI for work’ transformation is leaving company
• Negative Sentiment: Another bearish headline said attackers exploited Meta’s AI customer-support chatbot to compromise Instagram accounts, which could weigh on trust in Meta’s AI products and platform security. Yahoo Finance: Meta faces AI support breach as key internal AI executive exits

Meta Platforms Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 2.35 and a quick ratio of 2.35. The firm has a market cap of $1.46 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.98, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.23. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $621.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $634.55.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.67 by $3.77. The firm had revenue of $56.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $55.56 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 36.93% and a net margin of 32.84%.The business’s revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $6.43 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 7.63%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of META. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.7% during the 4th 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 stake in Meta Platforms by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,456 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $5,537,000 after purchasing an additional 875 shares during the period. Headwater Capital Co Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 294.7% in the first quarter. Headwater Capital Co Ltd now owns 150,000 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $86,454,000 after buying an additional 112,000 shares during the last quarter. Dymon Asia Capital Singapore PTE. LTD. purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the second quarter valued at about $213,000. Finally, Capital & Planning LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the second quarter worth about $322,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Company Profile

Meta Platforms, Inc (NASDAQ: META), formerly Facebook, Inc, is a global technology company best known for building social networking services and immersive computing platforms. Founded in 2004 and headquartered in Menlo Park, California, the company operates a family of consumer-facing products and services that connect users, creators and businesses. In October 2021 the company rebranded as Meta to reflect an expanded strategic focus on augmented and virtual reality technologies alongside its social media businesses.

Meta’s core consumer products include Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger, which enable social networking, messaging, content sharing and community building across mobile and desktop devices.