Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Insider Sells $291,675.15 in Stock

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $498.59, for a total transaction of $291,675.15. Following the sale, the insider now owns 37,813 shares in the company, valued at $18,853,183.67. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

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

• On Tuesday, April 9th, Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $522.00, for a total transaction of $305,370.00.
• On Tuesday, April 2nd, Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $485.00, for a total transaction of $283,725.00.
• On Tuesday, March 26th, Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.29, for a total transaction of $295,594.65.
• On Tuesday, March 19th, Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $488.50, for a total transaction of $285,772.50.
• On Tuesday, March 12th, Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $493.75, for a total transaction of $288,843.75.
• On Tuesday, March 5th, Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $495.00, for a total transaction of $289,575.00.
• On Tuesday, February 27th, Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $480.00, for a total transaction of $280,800.00.
• On Tuesday, February 20th, Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $469.88, for a total transaction of $274,879.80.
• On Tuesday, February 6th, Jennifer Newstead sold 552 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $464.00, for a total transaction of $256,128.00.
• On Tuesday, January 30th, Jennifer Newstead sold 566 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $404.00, for a total transaction of $228,664.00.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of Meta Platforms stock traded up $7.63 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $501.80. 14,784,199 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 17,051,031. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $207.13 and a twelve month high of $531.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.28 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $494.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $397.43. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The social networking company reported $5.33 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.82 by $0.51. The firm had revenue of $40.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.12 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 28.98% and a return on equity of 29.48%. Meta Platforms’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.00 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.06 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 21st. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.42%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on META. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $400.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and issued a $500.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday, March 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $420.00 to $535.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $535.00 to $590.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $585.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, thirty-eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $519.53.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of META. Stone House Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 625.0% in the third quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 87 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the first quarter worth about $44,000. Clear Investment Research LLC increased its position in Meta Platforms by 411.1% in the fourth quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 92 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. Finally, Gilfoyle & Co LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.