Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Insider Sells $373,607.34 in Stock

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $719.86, for a total value of $373,607.34. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 25,550 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,392,423. This trade represents a 1.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

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

• On Tuesday, July 22nd, Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $716.10, for a total value of $371,655.90.
• On Tuesday, July 15th, Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $723.08, for a total value of $375,278.52.
• On Tuesday, July 8th, Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $721.57, for a total value of $374,494.83.
• On Tuesday, July 1st, Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $737.00, for a total value of $382,503.00.
• On Tuesday, June 24th, Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $704.89, for a total value of $365,837.91.
• On Tuesday, June 17th, Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $701.99, for a total value of $364,332.81.
• On Tuesday, June 10th, Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $701.00, for a total value of $363,819.00.
• On Tuesday, June 3rd, Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $671.00, for a total value of $348,249.00.
• On Tuesday, May 27th, Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $635.41, for a total value of $329,777.79.
• On Tuesday, May 20th, Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $635.50, for a total value of $329,824.50.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

META opened at $750.01 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.89 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.27. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $450.80 and a 12-month high of $784.75. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $701.68 and a two-hundred day moving average of $645.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.97, a quick ratio of 2.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The social networking company reported $7.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.75 by $1.39. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 39.33% and a net margin of 39.99%. The company had revenue of $47.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $44.55 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $5.16 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were given a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is currently 8.19%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Oarsman Capital Inc. boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 8.8% in the second quarter. Oarsman Capital Inc. now owns 5,885 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $4,344,000 after purchasing an additional 478 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 15.6% during the second quarter. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust now owns 2,749 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,029,000 after purchasing an additional 371 shares during the last quarter. Motco lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 12.6% in the second quarter. Motco now owns 23,991 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $18,556,000 after acquiring an additional 2,694 shares during the period. Biltmore Family Office LLC lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 2.2% in the second quarter. Biltmore Family Office LLC now owns 3,321 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,451,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the period. Finally, Auto Owners Insurance Co lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 420.0% in the second quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 170,300 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $125,697,000 after acquiring an additional 137,550 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Meta Platforms from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Wedbush upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $920.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Rosenblatt Securities increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $846.00 to $918.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $795.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-nine have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $820.32.

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.