Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Stock Price Down 1.5% After Insider Selling

Key Points

• Meta Platforms' stock price fell 1.5% to $739.76 following insider selling, with significant declines in trading volume.
• Insiders Jennifer Newstead and Javier Olivan sold shares, resulting in a 1.58% and 3.94% decrease in their respective holdings.
• Several analysts have raised their target prices for META, with Bank of America increasing their target from $775 to $900 and maintaining a "buy" rating.

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report)'s share price dropped 1.5% during trading on Friday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $737.12 and last traded at $739.76. Approximately 2,732,181 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 14,966,209 shares. The stock had previously closed at $751.11.

Specifically, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $750.47, for a total transaction of $389,493.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 32,427 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,335,490.69. This represents a 1.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $755.11, for a total value of $390,391.87. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 12,611 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,522,692.21. This represents a 3.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on META shares. Bank of America lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $775.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $740.00 to $840.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Loop Capital restated a "buy" rating and set a $980.00 price target (up previously from $888.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Susquehanna cut their price target on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $700.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $775.00 to $900.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $822.41.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $734.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $658.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The company has a market cap of $1.86 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.27.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 192,591,101 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $142,149,566,000 after buying an additional 1,532,568 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 86,925,674 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $64,158,971,000 after acquiring an additional 1,650,435 shares in the last quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 608,429.2% during the 2nd quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC now owns 59,775,823 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $44,119,937,000 after purchasing an additional 59,766,000 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 51,575,209 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $37,902,948,000 after purchasing an additional 682,768 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter valued at about $23,155,393,000. 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.

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