Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Insider Sells $525,577.86 in Stock

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) insider Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $570.66, for a total value of $525,577.86. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 30,261 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,268,742.26. This represents a 2.95 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Jennifer Newstead also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, March 25th, Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $627.05, for a total transaction of $577,513.05.
• On Tuesday, March 18th, Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.25, for a total transaction of $552,830.25.
• On Tuesday, March 11th, Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $595.00, for a total value of $547,995.00.
• On Tuesday, March 4th, Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $644.00, for a total transaction of $593,124.00.
• On Tuesday, February 25th, Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $665.75, for a total transaction of $613,155.75.
• On Tuesday, February 18th, Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $736.07, for a total value of $677,920.47.
• On Tuesday, February 11th, Jennifer Newstead sold 902 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $713.32, for a total value of $643,414.64.
• On Tuesday, February 4th, Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $702.24, for a total value of $635,527.20.
• On Tuesday, January 28th, Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $666.00, for a total value of $602,730.00.
• On Tuesday, January 21st, Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $618.00, for a total transaction of $559,290.00.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:META traded down $52.31 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $531.62. The stock had a trading volume of 34,640,728 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,380,193. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $651.00 and its 200 day moving average price is $609.95. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $414.50 and a 1 year high of $740.91. The company has a market cap of $1.35 trillion, a P/E ratio of 22.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a current ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) 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 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 period in the prior year, the business posted $5.33 EPS. Research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. This is an increase from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.40%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on META shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $660.00 to $725.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Arete Research upgraded shares of Meta Platforms to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Susquehanna increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $685.00 to $752.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $753.00 to $780.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $718.55.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in META. JDM Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Avondale Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at $43,000. 79.91% of the stock is 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.