Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Insider Sells $677,920.47 in Stock

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) insider Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $736.07, for a total value of $677,920.47. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 35,787 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,341,737.09. This trade represents a 2.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

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

• 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 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 shares were sold at an average price of $666.00, for a total transaction 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 transaction 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 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 shares were sold at an average price of $591.76, for a total value of $535,542.80.
• On Tuesday, December 24th, Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were 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.
• On Tuesday, December 10th, Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $618.00, for a total transaction of $559,290.00.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 1.6 %

META traded down $11.22 during trading on Friday, reaching $683.62. The company had a trading volume of 15,609,265 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,750,735. The company has a market cap of $1.73 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.58, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.20. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $414.50 and a 12 month high of $740.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.98 and a quick ratio of 2.98. The business's fifty day moving average price is $647.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $590.57.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 period in the previous year, the company posted $5.33 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.66 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.525 per share. This is a boost from Meta Platforms's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is currently 8.36%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Pivotal Research upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $736.00 to $786.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Needham & Company LLC restated an "underperform" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $710.00 to $765.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $717.90.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of META. AMF Tjanstepension AB lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 32.5% in the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 457,092 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $261,680,000 after purchasing an additional 112,047 shares in the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 17.9% in the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 1,652 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $946,000 after buying an additional 251 shares during the last quarter. Waypoint Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Waypoint Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,424 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,388,000 after buying an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Alliance Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wealth Alliance Advisory Group LLC now owns 4,985 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $2,854,000 after buying an additional 297 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Veracity Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Veracity Capital LLC now owns 3,394 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,943,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company's stock.

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.