Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Insider Sells $399,214.80 in Stock

Key Points

• Meta Platforms insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares for a total value of $399,214.80, representing a 1.68% decrease in her position, now totaling 30,351 shares valued at approximately $23.3 million.
• The company is scheduled to pay a quarterly dividend of $0.525 on September 29th, reflecting a 0.3% dividend yield.
• Analysts have raised their price targets for Meta Platforms, with UBS Group setting a new target of $897.00, reinforcing a general consensus of a "Moderate Buy" rating for the stock.

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $769.20, for a total value of $399,214.80. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 30,351 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,345,989.20. This trade represents a 1.68% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

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

• On Tuesday, September 16th, Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $767.16, for a total value of $398,156.04.
• On Tuesday, September 9th, Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $757.50, for a total value of $393,142.50.
• On Tuesday, September 2nd, Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $726.25, for a total value of $376,923.75.
• On Tuesday, August 26th, Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $750.47, for a total transaction of $389,493.93.
• On Monday, August 18th, Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $775.00, for a total transaction of $402,225.00.
• On Tuesday, August 5th, Jennifer Newstead sold 515 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was 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 stock was 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 stock was sold at an average price of $716.10, for a total value of $371,655.90.
• On Tuesday, July 15th, Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $723.08, for a total value of $375,278.52.
• On Tuesday, July 8th, Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $721.57, for a total value of $374,494.83.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of Meta Platforms stock traded down $11.75 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $748.91. The company had a trading volume of 10,569,142 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,260,242. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $750.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $669.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.97 and a quick ratio of 1.97. The firm has a market cap of $1.88 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.24. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $479.80 and a fifty-two week high of $796.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The social networking company reported $7.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.75 by $1.39. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 39.99% and a return on equity of 39.33%. The company had revenue of $47.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $44.55 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $5.16 EPS. Meta Platforms's quarterly revenue was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Meta Platforms has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 22nd will be issued a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 22nd. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is currently 7.60%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on META shares. UBS Group increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $812.00 to $897.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $775.00 to $870.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Truist Financial set a $880.00 target price on Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $775.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Wedbush raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $920.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $826.05.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 570 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 10.2% during 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 purchasing an additional 875 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,646 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $964,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the period. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $178,000. Finally, Copia Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $108,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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