Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Stock Price Down 1.2% – Here’s Why

Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) traded down 1.2% on Monday . The stock traded as low as $595.40 and last traded at $602.01. Approximately 16,392,001 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 7% from the average session volume of 15,325,323 shares. The stock had previously closed at $609.46.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $870.00 target price (down from $900.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $880.00 to $840.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $925.00 to $815.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $915.00 to $850.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-seven have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $825.05.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $1.49 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The company’s fifty day moving average is $707.36 and its 200 day moving average is $706.50.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The social networking company reported $7.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.74 by $0.51. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 39.35% and a net margin of 30.89%.The firm had revenue of $51.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $49.34 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $6.03 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 26.2% on a year-over-year basis. Meta Platforms has set its Q4 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 22nd were paid a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 22nd. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 6,875 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Saturday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $609.46, for a total transaction of $4,190,037.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 88,370 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $53,857,980.20. The trade was a 7.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 5,063 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Saturday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $609.46, for a total transaction of $3,085,695.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 6,936 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,227,214.56. The trade was a 42.20% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 28,424 shares of company stock worth $18,868,377 over the last quarter. 13.61% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 34,551 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $20,230,000 after buying an additional 570 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,456 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $5,537,000 after acquiring an additional 875 shares during the last quarter. 1776 Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 137.2% in the 1st quarter. 1776 Wealth LLC now owns 1,167 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $673,000 after purchasing an additional 675 shares in the last quarter. Smart Money Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 20.4% in the 1st quarter. Smart Money Group LLC now owns 2,052 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,182,000 after purchasing an additional 348 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Woodward Diversified Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 5.5% during the 1st quarter. Woodward Diversified Capital LLC now owns 3,371 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,943,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.