Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Insider Sells $547,995.00 in Stock

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) insider Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $595.00, for a total value of $547,995.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,649,280. This represents a 2.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

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

• On Tuesday, March 4th, Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $644.00, for a total value of $593,124.00.
• On Tuesday, February 25th, Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were 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 shares were 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 value 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 value of $635,527.20.
• On Tuesday, January 28th, Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $666.00, for a total value of $602,730.00.
• On Tuesday, January 21st, Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $618.00, for a total value of $559,290.00.
• On Tuesday, January 14th, Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $604.54, for a total value of $547,108.70.
• On Tuesday, January 7th, Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $631.55, for a total value of $571,552.75.
• On Tuesday, December 31st, Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $591.76, for a total transaction of $535,542.80.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META traded up $16.96 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $607.60. 12,340,889 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,607,116. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.54 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a quick ratio of 2.98, a current ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $414.50 and a 12-month high of $740.91. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $658.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $603.19.

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Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 quarter last year, the firm earned $5.33 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Meta Platforms's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.35%. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is currently 8.78%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $710.00 to $765.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $736.00 to $786.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Arete Research raised shares of Meta Platforms to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. JMP Securities reissued a "market outperform" rating and issued a $750.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, DA Davidson raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $719.26.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 58,218 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $34,087,000 after purchasing an additional 808 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 0.6% during 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 during the period. Brueske Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at $459,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 0.9% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,827,565 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $7,915,451,000 after purchasing an additional 118,298 shares during the period. Finally, Apollon Financial LLC lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 11.1% during the fourth quarter. Apollon Financial LLC now owns 1,479 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $866,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the period. 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.