Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report)'s stock price fell 2.4% during trading on Friday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $749.12 and last traded at $755.08. 7,605,853 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 51% from the average session volume of 15,577,286 shares. The stock had previously closed at $773.44.
Specifically, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $719.86, for a total value of $373,607.34. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 25,550 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,392,423. This represents a 1.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $715.00, for a total value of $369,655.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 5,785 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,136,275. This trade represents a 8.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
A number of research firms recently commented on META. Susquehanna decreased their price target 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. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $635.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Needham & Company LLC upgraded Meta Platforms from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Raymond James Financial increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, JMP Securities increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-nine have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $820.32.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on META
Meta Platforms Price Performance
The company has a market cap of $1.89 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.15, a PEG ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $701.68 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $645.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 2.66 and a current ratio of 1.97.
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The social networking company reported $7.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.75 by $1.39. The company had revenue of $47.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 for the quarter was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.16 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.19%.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms
Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Oarsman Capital Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 8.8% in the 2nd quarter. Oarsman Capital Inc. now owns 5,885 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $4,344,000 after acquiring an additional 478 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 15.6% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust now owns 2,749 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $2,029,000 after acquiring an additional 371 shares in the last quarter. Motco grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 12.6% in the 2nd quarter. Motco now owns 23,991 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $18,556,000 after acquiring an additional 2,694 shares in the last quarter. Biltmore Family Office LLC lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Biltmore Family Office LLC now owns 3,321 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $2,451,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Auto Owners Insurance Co lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 420.0% in the 2nd quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 170,300 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $125,697,000 after purchasing an additional 137,550 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.
Meta Platforms Company Profile
(
Get Free Report)
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.
Further Reading
Before you consider Meta Platforms, you'll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Meta Platforms wasn't on the list.
While Meta Platforms currently has a Moderate Buy rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.
View The Five Stocks Here
Looking for the next FAANG stock before everyone has heard about it? Enter your email address to see which stocks MarketBeat analysts think might become the next trillion dollar tech company.
Get This Free Report
