Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Stock Price Down 1.2% - Here's Why

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report)'s share price dropped 1.2% on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $701.41 and last traded at $704.47. Approximately 3,377,332 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 76% from the average daily volume of 14,274,733 shares. The stock had previously closed at $712.97.

Analyst Ratings Changes

META has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday. Susquehanna decreased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $700.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $664.00 to $783.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $735.00 to $795.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Loop Capital increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $695.00 to $888.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $752.33.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 0.7%

The company's 50 day moving average price is $689.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $640.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.66 and a quick ratio of 2.66. The firm has a market cap of $1.81 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.28.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 net margin of 39.11% and a return on equity of 38.69%. The company had revenue of $42.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $41.45 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.71 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.29%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is currently 8.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 6,874 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $659.36, for a total transaction of $4,532,440.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 70,040 shares in the company, valued at approximately $46,181,574.40. The trade was a 8.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 22,449 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $636.85, for a total transaction of $14,296,645.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 152,954 shares of company stock worth $105,433,784 over the last 90 days. 13.61% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Inlight Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter worth about $33,000. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 237.5% in the second quarter. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC now owns 54 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at $43,000. 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.