Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Trading Down 0.8% on Insider Selling

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) was down 0.8% during mid-day trading on Friday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $469.60 and last traded at $471.61. Approximately 3,677,034 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 80% from the average daily volume of 17,962,736 shares. The stock had previously closed at $475.42.

Specifically, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 8,036 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $473.28, for a total value of $3,803,278.08. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 18,432 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,723,496.96. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 8,036 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $473.28, for a total value of $3,803,278.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 18,432 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,723,496.96. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 34,398 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $473.32, for a total value of $16,281,261.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,126,899 shares of company stock valued at $552,059,793. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

META has been the subject of several analyst reports. Benchmark restated a “hold” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $535.00 to $480.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Meta Platforms from $585.00 to $540.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $550.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, thirty-seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $509.80.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 0.7 %

The company has a quick ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.20 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.21. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $489.50 and its 200 day moving average is $412.64.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.32 by $0.39. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.06% and a return on equity of 32.03%. The company had revenue of $36.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.28 billion. Equities analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Meta Platforms

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of META. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 527.3% during the first quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Stone House Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 625.0% in the 3rd 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. Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised its position in Meta Platforms by 95.6% during the first quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 88 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the first quarter worth approximately $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

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.