Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) CFO Susan J. Li Sells 8,951 Shares

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,951 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $577.16, for a total transaction of $5,166,159.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 51,591 shares in the company, valued at $29,776,261.56. This trade represents a 14.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of Meta Platforms stock traded up $6.69 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $561.09. The stock had a trading volume of 9,155,606 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,035,363. The stock's 50 day moving average is $569.10 and its 200 day moving average is $521.96. The company has a current ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 2.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $313.66 and a twelve month high of $602.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.42 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.09, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.22.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.19 by $0.84. The business had revenue of $40.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $40.21 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 35.55% and a return on equity of 35.60%. Equities analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.36%. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is currently 9.42%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on META shares. Benchmark reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $640.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $634.10.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. LS Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 111.4% in the third quarter. LS Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,679 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $6,686,000 after purchasing an additional 6,155 shares during the period. Gradient Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 8.9% in the 2nd quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 72,587 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $36,600,000 after buying an additional 5,953 shares during the period. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. now owns 9,735 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $5,573,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 26.5% during the 2nd quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. now owns 1,678 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $846,000 after buying an additional 352 shares during the period. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.4% in the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 412,046 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $235,872,000 after acquiring an additional 5,594 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.

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