Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Shares Down 2.6% Following Insider Selling

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report)'s stock price was down 2.6% during mid-day trading on Tuesday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $590.74 and last traded at $592.50. Approximately 5,251,927 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 56% from the average daily volume of 11,884,012 shares. The stock had previously closed at $608.33.

Specifically, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 12,975 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $615.41, for a total transaction of $7,984,944.75. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 381,290 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $234,649,678.90. This represents a 3.29 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $631.55, for a total value of $571,552.75. Following the sale, the insider now owns 32,010 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,215,915.50. This represents a 2.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 12,975 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $618.42, for a total transaction of $8,023,999.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 420,215 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $259,869,360.30. This represents a 3.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on META. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $530.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Wolfe Research boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $670.00 to $730.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $645.00 to $705.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Guggenheim lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $665.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $715.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $650.05.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $1.50 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.19. The company's 50-day moving average price is $594.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $554.18. The company has a current ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 2.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.19 by $0.84. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 35.60% and a net margin of 35.55%. The business had revenue of $40.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $40.21 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.42%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of META. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake 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 in the last quarter. LS Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms by 111.4% in the third quarter. LS Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,679 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $6,686,000 after acquiring an additional 6,155 shares in the last quarter. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.7% in the third quarter. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. now owns 9,735 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $5,573,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.4% during the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 412,046 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $235,872,000 after buying an additional 5,594 shares in the last quarter. Finally, M&G PLC lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 14.6% in the third quarter. M&G PLC now owns 721,339 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $412,606,000 after buying an additional 91,773 shares during the last quarter. 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.