Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Insider Jennifer Newstead Sells 921 Shares of Stock

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) insider Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $665.75, for a total value of $613,155.75. Following the sale, the insider now owns 34,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,212,039.50. This represents a 2.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

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

• On Tuesday, February 18th, Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was 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 shares were 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 value of $559,290.00.
• On Tuesday, January 14th, Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $604.54, for a total value of $547,108.70.
• On Tuesday, January 7th, Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $631.55, for a total value of $571,552.75.
• On Tuesday, December 31st, Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $591.76, for a total value of $535,542.80.
• On Tuesday, December 24th, Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $602.47, for a total value of $545,235.35.
• On Tuesday, December 17th, Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $626.66, for a total value of $567,127.30.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 2.3 %

Meta Platforms stock opened at $658.24 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $651.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $595.06. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $414.50 and a twelve month high of $740.91. The stock has a market cap of $1.67 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a quick ratio of 2.98, a current ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its earnings results 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 net margin of 37.91% and a return on equity of 38.17%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $5.33 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.32%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.78%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. JDM Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Avondale Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $670.00 to $775.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Needham & Company LLC reissued an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $685.00 to $752.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $720.00 to $790.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $620.00 to $660.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $719.26.

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.