Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Trading Down 0.3% Following Insider Selling

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) was down 0.3% on Thursday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $566.58 and last traded at $566.69. Approximately 5,342,813 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 66% from the average daily volume of 15,600,814 shares. The stock had previously closed at $568.31.

Specifically, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $569.93, for a total value of $5,699,300.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 328,662 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $187,314,333.66. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $560.00, for a total value of $231,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 12,772 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,152,320. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In other news, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $557.52, for a total value of $11,150,400.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 338,662 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $188,810,838.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on META shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Susquehanna lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Barclays lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $520.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Roth Mkm lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $510.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, thirty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $591.23.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 0.1 %

The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $516.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $499.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.44 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.59, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a quick ratio of 2.83, a current ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.70 by $0.46. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 34.16% and a net margin of 34.34%. The firm had revenue of $39.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.26 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.23 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is presently 11.49%.

Institutional Trading of Meta Platforms

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in META. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 17.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 30,217,175 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $10,695,722,000 after purchasing an additional 4,440,229 shares during the last quarter. Concentrum Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 111.0% in the fourth quarter. Concentrum Wealth Management now owns 7,391,877 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,616,000 after acquiring an additional 3,888,308 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 186,349,346 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $65,960,215,000 after acquiring an additional 3,104,550 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 24.7% in the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 13,867,398 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $6,733,731,000 after acquiring an additional 2,748,620 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sustainable Growth Advisers LP bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the second quarter valued at about $595,152,000. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

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.