Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Insider Sells $613,155.75 in Stock

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) insider Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $665.75, for a total transaction of $613,155.75. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 34,866 shares of the company's stock, valued at $23,212,039.50. The trade was a 2.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

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

• 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 transaction 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 shares were sold at an average price of $702.24, for a total transaction 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 shares were sold at an average price of $604.54, for a total transaction 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 transaction of $571,552.75.
• On Tuesday, December 31st, Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $591.76, for a total transaction of $535,542.80.
• On Tuesday, December 24th, Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $602.47, for a total value of $545,235.35.
• On Tuesday, December 17th, Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $626.66, for a total transaction of $567,127.30.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:META traded down $2.34 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $655.90. The stock had a trading volume of 9,321,445 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,628,580. The company has a current ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $414.50 and a 1 year high of $740.91. The company has a market capitalization of $1.66 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.20. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $651.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $595.06.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.75 by $1.27. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.17% and a net margin of 37.91%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.33 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Meta Platforms's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.32%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is 8.78%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Park Square Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,347,000. Total Wealth Planning & Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,305,000. Menard Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 13.0% during the fourth quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 9,754 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $5,711,000 after purchasing an additional 1,125 shares during the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth about $1,162,918,000. Finally, Employees Retirement System of Texas increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas now owns 421,520 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $246,804,000 after buying an additional 2,229 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

META has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $630.00 to $705.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Raymond James reissued a "strong-buy" rating and set a $800.00 target price (up previously from $725.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Wolfe Research lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $670.00 to $730.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $715.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Two 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, Meta Platforms has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $719.26.

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.