Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Trading Down 0.1% on Insider Selling

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report)'s share price traded down 0.1% during mid-day trading on Friday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $513.56 and last traded at $519.07. 2,655,123 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 16,338,425 shares. The stock had previously closed at $519.56.

Specifically, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,951 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $471.85, for a total value of $4,223,529.35. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 74,580 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,190,573. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $496.99, for a total transaction of $449,775.95. Following the sale, the insider now owns 38,750 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,258,362.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,951 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $471.85, for a total value of $4,223,529.35. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 74,580 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,190,573. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 233,512 shares of company stock worth $113,597,536. Insiders own 13.71% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

META has been the subject of several analyst reports. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Meta Platforms from $590.00 to $550.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Roth Mkm raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $500.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. TD Cowen cut their price target on Meta Platforms from $590.00 to $530.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Raymond James raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price target on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $535.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, thirty-seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $510.05.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $1.28 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $479.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $452.69. The company has a quick ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.32 by $0.39. The company had revenue of $36.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $36.28 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 32.03% and a net margin of 32.06%. Analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.40%. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is presently 11.49%.

Institutional Trading of Meta Platforms

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 527.3% in the first quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 625.0% during the 3rd quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 87 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 95.6% during the 1st quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 88 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $44,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.