Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Trading Down 2% Following Insider Selling

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) shares were down 2% on Friday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $626.15 and last traded at $630.78. Approximately 7,983,310 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 45% from the average daily volume of 14,500,141 shares. The stock had previously closed at $643.88.

Specifically, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 907 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $645.77, for a total value of $585,713.39. Following the sale, the insider now owns 24,749 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,982,161.73. The trade was a 3.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 608 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $631.25, for a total value of $383,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 2,582 shares in the company, valued at $1,629,887.50. This represents a 19.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Benchmark lowered their target price on Meta Platforms from $820.00 to $640.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $720.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Susquehanna lowered their target price on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $700.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $701.05.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 1.9%

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.60 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.24. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $570.68 and a two-hundred day moving average of $606.39. The company has a current ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.33 by $1.10. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.17% and a net margin of 37.91%. The business had revenue of $42.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $41.45 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.71 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Valley Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Valley Financial Group Inc. now owns 588 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $344,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Lantern Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Lantern Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,976 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $1,743,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC now owns 1,640 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $960,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Meredith Wealth Planning lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Meredith Wealth Planning now owns 1,873 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $1,097,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Maiden Cove Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Maiden Cove Capital LLC now owns 481 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $282,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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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