Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Stock Price Down 5.8% – What’s Next?

Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) were down 5.8% during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $587.44 and last traded at $589.58. Approximately 6,331,766 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 53% from the average daily volume of 13,616,370 shares. The stock had previously closed at $625.66.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on META. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $685.00 to $752.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $688.00 to $765.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $715.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $736.00 to $786.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Two 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $719.26.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 1.3 %

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $657.45 and a 200 day moving average of $601.96. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $1.53 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.32, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.23.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter last year, the business earned $5.33 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.525 dividend. This is a positive change from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.35%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is 8.78%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $626.66, for a total transaction of $567,127.30. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 34,725 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,760,768.50. This trade represents a 2.54 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $629.56, for a total value of $260,008.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 18,340 shares in the company, valued at $11,546,130.40. The trade was a 2.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 725,081 shares of company stock worth $472,702,625. Corporate insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Lighthouse Financial LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth approximately $206,000. Anchor Pointe Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at $608,000. SpringVest Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at $223,000. Old North State Trust LLC lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 55.2% in the 4th quarter. Old North State Trust LLC now owns 2,002 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,172,000 after acquiring an additional 712 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mattson Financial Services LLC lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 45.0% in the 4th quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC now owns 10,761 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $6,160,000 after acquiring an additional 3,341 shares in the last quarter. 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.