Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) shares were down 2.3% during mid-day trading on Friday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $611.11 and last traded at $613.62. Approximately 5,379,466 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 61% from the average daily volume of 13,622,523 shares. The stock had previously closed at $627.93.
Specifically, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $644.00, for a total value of $593,124.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,945 shares in the company, valued at $21,860,580. This represents a 2.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 608 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $673.96, for a total transaction of $409,767.68. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 8,662 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,837,841.52. The trade was a 6.56 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In other news, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $677.71, for a total transaction of $13,554,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 308,686 shares in the company, valued at $209,199,589.06. This represents a 6.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of analysts have commented on META shares. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Pivotal Research raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Wolfe Research boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $670.00 to $730.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Susquehanna increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $688.00 to $765.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Two 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 issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $719.26.
Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on Meta Platforms
Meta Platforms Trading Down 4.4 %
The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a current ratio of 2.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.52 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.23. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $656.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $600.95.
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 earnings per share (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 quarter in the previous year, the company earned $5.33 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Meta Platforms Increases Dividend
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.35%. This is a boost from Meta Platforms's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is presently 8.78%.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms
Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JDM Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the third quarter worth about $30,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Avondale Wealth Management purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth $43,000. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.
About Meta Platforms
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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.
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