Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Stock Price Down 3.7% After Insider Selling

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) shares traded down 3.7% during trading on Friday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $494.20 and last traded at $511.83. 13,579,421 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 6% from the average session volume of 14,384,515 shares. The stock had previously closed at $531.62.

Specifically, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $570.66, for a total value of $525,577.86. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 30,261 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,268,742.26. The trade was a 2.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 608 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $563.03, for a total value of $342,322.24. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 6,230 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,507,676.90. The trade was a 8.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

META has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $800.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Guggenheim reduced their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $675.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $770.00 price objective (up from $700.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $753.00 to $780.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. 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 company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $713.07.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.32 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.28. 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 has a 50-day simple moving average of $645.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $610.47.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.33 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Meta Platforms's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.40%. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is currently 8.78%.

Institutional Trading of Meta Platforms

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $19,949,512,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 67,172.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 23,452,665 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $13,517,178,000 after purchasing an additional 23,417,803 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 78,471.1% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,248,763 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $3,658,713,000 after purchasing an additional 6,240,810 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth about $2,243,603,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 13.5% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 23,445,565 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $13,727,613,000 after buying an additional 2,787,832 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.