Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Stock Price Down 0.4% on Insider Selling

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

Specifically, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 22,366 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $376,234.40. This represents a 97.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 35,921 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated 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 firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $627.59, for a total transaction of $259,194.67. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 15,862 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,954,832.58. This trade represents a 2.54 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on META. Bank of America increased 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. Scotiabank raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $583.00 to $627.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $620.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. UBS Group lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $736.00 to $786.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Guggenheim upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $665.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-six have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $706.76.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 0.3 %

The company has a current ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 2.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $613.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $566.31. The firm has a market cap of $1.74 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.19.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 net margin of 37.91% and a return on equity of 39.74%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $5.33 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 25.44 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is currently 8.36%.

Institutional Trading of Meta Platforms

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. JDM Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the third quarter valued at $36,000. Avondale Wealth Management purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. Halpern Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter worth about $46,000. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter valued at about $49,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

About Meta Platforms

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.