Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Stock Price Down 1.3% Following Insider Selling

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)’s share price dropped 1.3% on Wednesday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $602.79 and last traded at $609.66. Approximately 3,399,304 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 68% from the average daily volume of 10,762,179 shares. The stock had previously closed at $617.89.

Specifically, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 12,975 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $259,869,360.30. The trade was a 3.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 35,921 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $611.10, for a total value of $21,951,323.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $612.10, for a total transaction of $252,797.30. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 17,101 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,467,522.10. This represents a 2.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. TD Cowen raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $670.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $655.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $646.90.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $593.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $552.97. The company has a market capitalization of $1.55 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 2.73 and a current ratio of 2.73.

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

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.32%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.42%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Graypoint LLC grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 20,041 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $11,734,000 after buying an additional 760 shares during the period. RMR Wealth Builders lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. RMR Wealth Builders now owns 11,830 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $6,927,000 after purchasing an additional 556 shares in the last quarter. Lynch & Associates IN lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Lynch & Associates IN now owns 1,834 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,074,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Atlas Brown Inc. lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Atlas Brown Inc. now owns 5,864 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $3,433,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 22.5% in the fourth quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 594 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $348,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.