Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Trading Down 0% Following Insider Selling

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)’s share price was down 0% during trading on Wednesday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $573.36 and last traded at $585.81. Approximately 3,439,866 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 76% from the average daily volume of 14,238,185 shares. The stock had previously closed at $586.00.

Specifically, COO Javier Olivan sold 608 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $563.03, for a total transaction of $342,322.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 6,230 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,507,676.90. The trade was a 8.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $627.05, for a total value of $577,513.05. Following the sale, the insider now owns 31,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,552,673.10. This represents a 2.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $790.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Wednesday. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $811.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday, January 27th. KeyCorp decreased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $710.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $710.00 to $765.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Two investment 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $718.55.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 9.0 %

The company has a market capitalization of $1.35 trillion, a PE ratio of 22.22, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a current ratio of 2.98. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $651.00 and its 200 day moving average is $609.95.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 in the prior year, the company earned $5.33 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth about $19,949,512,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 78,471.1% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,248,763 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $3,658,713,000 after buying an additional 6,240,810 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth $2,243,603,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 13.5% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 23,445,565 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $13,727,613,000 after buying an additional 2,787,832 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,162,918,000. Hedge funds and other 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.