Insider Selling: Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Insider Sells 585 Shares of Stock

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $491.25, for a total value of $287,381.25. Following the sale, the insider now owns 37,228 shares in the company, valued at $18,288,255. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

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

• On Tuesday, April 16th, Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $498.59, for a total value of $291,675.15.
• On Tuesday, April 9th, Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $522.00, for a total value 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 value 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 value 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 value of $285,772.50.
• On Tuesday, March 12th, Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $493.75, for a total value of $288,843.75.
• On Tuesday, March 5th, Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $495.00, for a total value of $289,575.00.
• On Tuesday, February 27th, Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $480.00, for a total value 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 value 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 value of $256,128.00.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of META stock traded down $52.12 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $441.38. 82,642,094 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 18,210,709. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $208.88 and a twelve month high of $531.49. The firm has a market cap of $1.13 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.20. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $495.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $403.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 2.67 and a current ratio of 2.67.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.32 by $0.39. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 29.48% and a net margin of 28.98%. The company had revenue of $36.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.28 billion. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 22nd were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 21st. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 13.42%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on META shares. TD Cowen dropped their price target on Meta Platforms from $590.00 to $530.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Roth Mkm increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $500.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Wedbush lowered their target price on Meta Platforms from $570.00 to $480.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Meta Platforms from $609.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their target price on Meta Platforms from $590.00 to $565.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, thirty-eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $509.18.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Stone House Investment Management LLC boosted its position 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 worth $26,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the first quarter worth $44,000. Clear Investment Research LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 74 shares during the period. Finally, Gilfoyle & Co LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth $39,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.