Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Shares Down 0.4% Following Insider Selling

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report)'s share price was down 0.4% during trading on Wednesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $665.67 and last traded at $671.73. Approximately 4,726,860 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 66% from the average daily volume of 14,015,645 shares. The stock had previously closed at $674.33.

Specifically, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 22,366 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $648.68, for a total value of $14,508,376.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 580 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $376,234.40. This trade represents a 97.47 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 35,921 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $673.57, for a total value of $24,195,307.97. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $627.59, for a total value of $259,194.67. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 15,862 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,954,832.58. The trade was a 2.54 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on META. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $680.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $736.00 to $786.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday. Two equities research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $710.83.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 1.2 %

The company's 50 day moving average is $613.60 and its 200 day moving average is $567.04. The company has a market cap of $1.76 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.20. 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 (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 EPS for the quarter, topping 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. As a group, analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 25.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is 8.36%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in META. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Meta Platforms by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 48,160,608 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $27,470,870,000 after purchasing an additional 698,884 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.9% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 14,440,868 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $8,266,531,000 after purchasing an additional 263,063 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 118,298 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 57,001.5% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 9,517,111 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $5,447,975,000 after buying an additional 9,500,444 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 2.8% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 6,946,755 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $4,101,602,000 after buying an additional 186,728 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.