Insider Selling: Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Insider Sells 519 Shares of Stock

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $701.00, for a total transaction of $363,819.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 29,183 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,457,283. This trade represents a 1.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

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

• 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.
• 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 transaction of $329,777.79.
• On Tuesday, May 20th, Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $635.50, for a total transaction of $329,824.50.
• On Friday, May 16th, Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $636.72, for a total transaction of $330,457.68.
• On Tuesday, May 13th, Jennifer Newstead sold 907 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $645.77, for a total transaction of $585,713.39.
• On Tuesday, May 6th, Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $592.52, for a total transaction of $545,710.92.
• On Tuesday, April 29th, Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $545.17, for a total transaction of $502,101.57.
• On Tuesday, April 22nd, Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $491.87, for a total transaction of $453,012.27.
• On Tuesday, April 15th, Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $531.22, for a total transaction of $489,253.62.
• On Tuesday, April 8th, Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $543.39, for a total transaction of $500,462.19.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of META traded down $10.49 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $682.87. The company had a trading volume of 9,259,272 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,521,911. The stock has a market cap of $1.72 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a quick ratio of 2.98, a current ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $442.65 and a 1-year high of $740.91. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $604.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $619.60.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.33 by $1.10. The business had revenue of $42.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $41.45 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 37.91% and a return on equity of 38.17%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.71 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.31%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on META. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $700.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $628.00 to $655.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Guggenheim increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $725.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Loop Capital raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $695.00 to $888.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $704.26.

Institutional Trading of Meta Platforms

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Suvretta Capital Management LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Suvretta Capital Management LLC now owns 170,338 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $99,735,000 after buying an additional 1,850 shares in the last quarter. Skye Global Management LP raised its position in Meta Platforms by 130.9% during the fourth quarter. Skye Global Management LP now owns 76,200 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $44,616,000 after acquiring an additional 43,200 shares in the last quarter. Brueske Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $459,000. Apollon Financial LLC lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 11.1% during the 4th quarter. Apollon Financial LLC now owns 1,479 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $866,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 255.9% in the fourth quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 1,709,694 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $1,001,044,000 after acquiring an additional 1,229,350 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Company Profile

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.