Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Trading Down 1.2% After Insider Selling

Key Points

• Meta Platforms' stock fell 1.2% to $756.84, with trading volume significantly down, marking a 70% decrease from its average session volume.
• Brokerages like Royal Bank of Canada and Monness Crespi & Hardt have raised their target prices for Meta, with the average price target currently at $822.41 and an overall rating of "Moderate Buy."
• Insiders have sold large amounts of stock recently, with COO Javier Olivan and CTO Andrew Bosworth reducing their holdings by a combined total of approximately $9.4 million in recent transactions.

Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) traded down 1.2% during mid-day trading on Wednesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $752.07 and last traded at $756.84. 4,490,993 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 70% from the average session volume of 14,781,229 shares. The stock had previously closed at $765.70.

Specifically, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $755.65, for a total value of $390,671.05. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 11,577 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,748,160.05. This represents a 4.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $726.25, for a total value of $375,471.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 12,094 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,783,267.50. This represents a 4.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $726.25, for a total transaction of $376,923.75. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 31,908 shares of the company's stock, valued at $23,173,185. This trade represents a 1.60% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Raymond James Financial raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $808.00 to $880.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Citizens Jmp increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $900.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $920.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Wedbush increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $920.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $822.41.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $741.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $661.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a current ratio of 1.97. The company has a market cap of $1.90 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.24.

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

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Inlight Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Bare Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the first quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Evergreen Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 237.5% during the second quarter. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC now owns 54 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. 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.