Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Shares Down 2% After Insider Selling

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

Specifically, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 907 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $645.77, for a total value of $585,713.39. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 24,749 shares in the company, valued at $15,982,161.73. This trade represents a 3.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 608 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 2,582 shares in the company, valued at $1,629,887.50. This represents a 19.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

META has been the topic of several research reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Scotiabank cut their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $627.00 to $525.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Loop Capital lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $695.00 to $888.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Susquehanna cut their price objective on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $700.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $701.05.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 0.6%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.98 and a quick ratio of 2.98. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $571.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $607.61. The stock has a market cap of $1.60 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.62, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.24.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.71 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, 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

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Inlight Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the first quarter worth approximately $33,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $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.