Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Trading Down 1.2% Following Insider Selling

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) was down 1.2% during trading on Wednesday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $610.50 and last traded at $618.67. Approximately 4,437,466 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 68% from the average daily volume of 13,789,312 shares. The stock had previously closed at $626.31.

Specifically, COO Javier Olivan sold 608 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $614.97, for a total value of $373,901.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 6,838 shares in the company, valued at $4,205,164.86. The trade was a 8.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.25, for a total value of $552,830.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 32,103 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,269,825.75. The trade was a 2.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on META shares. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $688.00 to $765.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and set a $770.00 target price (up from $700.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $670.00 to $775.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, KeyCorp reduced their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $710.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Meta Platforms has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $718.31.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 4.3 %

The company has a current ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $655.23 and a 200-day moving average price of $608.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.46 trillion, a PE ratio of 24.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.23.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 previous year, the business earned $5.33 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.525 dividend. This is a boost from Meta Platforms's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.36%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.78%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. JDM Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the third quarter worth $30,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the third quarter valued at $36,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. Avondale Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth $41,000. Finally, WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at about $43,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.