Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Stock Price Down 0.4% on Insider Selling

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:METAGet Free Report) fell 0.4% during trading on Wednesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $569.34 and last traded at $573.95. 2,326,508 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 15,528,377 shares. The stock had previously closed at $576.47.

Specifically, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $570.00, for a total transaction of $235,410.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 12,359 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,044,630. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Tigress Financial upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $575.00 to $645.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. JMP Securities increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $635.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $570.00 to $620.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $598.08.

Get Our Latest Research Report on Meta Platforms

Meta Platforms Stock Up 1.7 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.48 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 2.83 and a current ratio of 2.83. The business’s 50 day moving average is $524.47 and its 200-day moving average is $501.92.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:METAGet Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.70 by $0.46. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 34.16% and a net margin of 34.34%. The company had revenue of $39.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.26 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.23 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.34%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.49%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of META. S.A. Mason LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. S.A. Mason LLC now owns 1,328 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $645,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Front Row Advisors LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms by 5.7% during the second quarter. Front Row Advisors LLC now owns 371 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $187,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 2.0% during the first quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN now owns 1,057 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $513,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the period. Northern Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Northern Capital Management Inc. now owns 647 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $314,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Buckingham Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 5.1% in the 2nd quarter. Buckingham Capital Management Inc. now owns 433 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $218,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Meta Platforms

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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.

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