Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Shares Down 1.5% - Here's What Happened

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) shares fell 1.5% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $686.27 and last traded at $685.39. 6,023,632 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 58% from the average session volume of 14,470,170 shares. The stock had previously closed at $695.77.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

META has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $740.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $775.00 to $780.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $664.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday. Susquehanna dropped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $700.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Scotiabank cut their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $627.00 to $525.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $710.00.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 2.66, a quick ratio of 2.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $615.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $622.60. The company has a market cap of $1.73 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.26.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.33 by $1.10. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.69% and a net margin of 39.11%. The firm had revenue of $42.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $41.45 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $4.71 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.30%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.19%.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, 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 owns 70,040 shares in the company, valued at approximately $46,181,574.40. This represents a 8.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $699.27, for a total value of $361,522.59. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 8,887 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,214,412.49. This trade represents a 5.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 110,512 shares of company stock valued at $73,590,232 over the last 90 days. 13.61% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Meta Platforms

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in META. Inlight Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the first quarter worth about $33,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,000. 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.

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