Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Stock Price Down 0.3% After Insider Selling

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) dropped 0.3% on Wednesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $700.88 and last traded at $702.33. Approximately 6,308,300 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 60% from the average daily volume of 15,599,531 shares. The stock had previously closed at $704.19.

Specifically, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 12,975 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $696.23, for a total transaction of $9,033,584.25. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 197,996 shares in the company, valued at approximately $137,850,755.08. The trade was a 6.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 12,975 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $706.72, for a total value of $9,169,692.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 172,046 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $121,588,349.12. The trade was a 7.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $676.00, for a total value of $279,188.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 15,449 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,443,524. This represents a 2.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

META has been the topic of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Roth Mkm boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $620.00 to $635.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. DA Davidson raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Susquehanna boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $670.00 to $775.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $710.83.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 2.98, a current ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $624.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $572.13. The company has a market capitalization of $1.80 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.87, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.20.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.75 by $1.27. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 37.91% and a return on equity of 38.17%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.33 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 25.94 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.28%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is 8.36%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Ballentine Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 58,218 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $34,087,000 after acquiring an additional 808 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in Meta Platforms by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 140,585 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $82,314,000 after purchasing an additional 897 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,827,565 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $7,915,451,000 after buying an additional 118,298 shares in the last quarter. LS Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 111.4% in the 3rd quarter. LS Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,679 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $6,686,000 after buying an additional 6,155 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.7% during the third quarter. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. now owns 9,735 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $5,573,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.