Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Stock Price Down 0.1% Following Insider Selling

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) fell 0.1% during trading on Monday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $627.80 and last traded at $639.90. 3,547,807 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 76% from the average session volume of 14,503,823 shares. The stock had previously closed at $640.34.

Specifically, COO Javier Olivan sold 2,615 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $659.36, for a total transaction of $1,724,226.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 5,437 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,584,940.32. This represents a 32.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 6,874 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $659.36, for a total transaction of $4,532,440.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 70,040 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $46,181,574.40. The trade was a 8.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In related news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 22,449 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $636.85, for a total transaction of $14,296,645.65. Following the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 1,183 shares in the company, valued at $753,393.55. The trade was a 94.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on META. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $624.00 to $676.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Roth Capital boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $580.00 to $620.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. DA Davidson decreased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $650.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Mizuho raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $701.05.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 0.9%

The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $572.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $607.81. The company has a current ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.62 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.24.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 quarterly revenue was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $4.71 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Meta Platforms

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 250.8% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,361,460 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $784,661,000 after purchasing an additional 973,372 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 11.9% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 18,990 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $10,945,000 after buying an additional 2,013 shares in the last quarter. Schmidt P J Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 18.1% in the 1st quarter. Schmidt P J Investment Management Inc. now owns 698 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $402,000 after buying an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Acorns Advisers LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 10.9% in the 1st quarter. Acorns Advisers LLC now owns 2,627 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $1,514,000 after buying an additional 258 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Rock Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter valued at about $506,000. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

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.