Jennifer Newstead Sells 519 Shares of Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Stock

Key Points

• Jennifer Newstead, an insider at Meta Platforms, sold 519 shares of the company's stock for a total of $402,225 on August 18th, decreasing her ownership of the stock by 1.55%.
• Meta Platforms recently reported $7.14 earnings per share for the quarter, exceeding the consensus estimate of $5.75, alongside a revenue of $47.52 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.525, with a 0.3% yield, and a dividend payout ratio of 7.60%.

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $775.00, for a total transaction of $402,225.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 32,946 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $25,533,150. This represents a 1.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

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

• On Tuesday, August 5th, Jennifer Newstead sold 515 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $776.38, for a total transaction of $399,835.70.
• On Tuesday, July 29th, Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $719.86, for a total transaction of $373,607.34.
• 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 transaction of $371,655.90.
• On Tuesday, July 15th, Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $723.08, for a total transaction of $375,278.52.
• On Tuesday, July 8th, Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $721.57, for a total transaction 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 transaction 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 transaction of $365,837.91.
• On Tuesday, June 17th, Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $701.99, for a total transaction of $364,332.81.
• On Tuesday, June 10th, Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $701.00, for a total transaction 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 transaction of $348,249.00.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 2.1%

Shares of META stock traded down $15.89 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $751.48. 12,216,778 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,316,512. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $479.80 and a 1-year high of $796.25. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $726.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $656.42. The company has a quick ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.89 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.21, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.27.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The social networking company reported $7.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.75 by $1.39. The firm had revenue of $47.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $44.55 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 39.99% and a return on equity of 39.33%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $5.16 EPS. Meta Platforms has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is currently 7.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Moffett Nathanson upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $605.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $710.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and set a $920.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Benchmark increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $890.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $685.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $822.41.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.4% during the second quarter. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors now owns 3,506 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $2,587,000 after buying an additional 13 shares during the last quarter. Valley Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Valley Financial Group Inc. now owns 588 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $344,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Lantern Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Lantern Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,976 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $1,743,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Pachira Investments Inc. raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.0% during the second quarter. Pachira Investments Inc. now owns 488 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $360,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hemington Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.6% during the second quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 2,223 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $1,641,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is 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.

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