Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Shares Down 1.4% Following Insider Selling

Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) dropped 1.4% during mid-day trading on Wednesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $575.57 and last traded at $577.93. Approximately 3,104,264 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 80% from the average daily volume of 15,233,068 shares. The stock had previously closed at $586.27.

Specifically, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $584.83, for a total transaction of $241,534.79. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 11,533 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,744,844.39. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $589.89, for a total transaction of $533,850.45. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 34,197 shares in the company, valued at $20,172,468.33. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

META has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Scotiabank started coverage on Meta Platforms in a research report on Friday, October 11th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $585.00 target price on the stock. KeyCorp increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $560.00 to $655.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Roth Mkm lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $620.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Pivotal Research assumed coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $780.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $660.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $613.46.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 2.83, a quick ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $542.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $507.12. The firm has a market cap of $1.46 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.22.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.70 by $0.46. The firm had revenue of $39.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.26 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 34.34% and a return on equity of 34.16%. The business’s revenue was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.23 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 11.49%.

Institutional Trading of Meta Platforms

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 3.5% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,733 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $841,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Campbell Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 12.7% during the 1st quarter. Campbell Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,503 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $4,129,000 after acquiring an additional 955 shares in the last quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH raised its position in Meta Platforms by 14.8% in the first quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH now owns 7,088 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $3,442,000 after purchasing an additional 914 shares in the last quarter. Orrstown Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 16.8% during the first quarter. Orrstown Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,066 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $518,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the period. Finally, Advance Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 36.8% during the first quarter. Advance Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,011 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $491,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is 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.