Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Trading Down 2.7% Following Insider Selling

Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) fell 2.7% during mid-day trading on Tuesday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $724.66 and last traded at $718.34. 3,718,155 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 74% from the average session volume of 14,502,282 shares. The stock had previously closed at $738.09.

Specifically, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 13,793 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $730.47, for a total value of $10,075,372.71. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 29,947 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,875,385.09. This represents a 31.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $704.89, for a total value of $365,837.91. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 28,145 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,839,129.05. This represents a 1.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In other news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 13,793 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $710.24, for a total transaction of $9,796,340.32. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 57,533 shares of the company's stock, valued at $40,862,237.92. This trade represents a 19.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and set a $750.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $775.00 to $780.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Wedbush lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $680.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Benchmark dropped their target price on Meta Platforms from $820.00 to $640.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $719.52.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average of $643.58 and a 200-day moving average of $627.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.81 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a current ratio of 2.66, a quick ratio of 2.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.33 by $1.10. The business had revenue of $42.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $41.45 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.69% and a net margin of 39.11%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.71 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.29%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is presently 8.19%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Suvretta Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Suvretta Capital Management LLC now owns 170,338 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $99,735,000 after acquiring an additional 1,850 shares in the last quarter. Skye Global Management LP raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 130.9% in the 4th quarter. Skye Global Management LP now owns 76,200 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $44,616,000 after acquiring an additional 43,200 shares in the last quarter. Brueske Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at $459,000. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 255.9% in the 4th quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 1,709,694 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,001,044,000 after acquiring an additional 1,229,350 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 6,675,174 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $3,908,382,000 after acquiring an additional 110,040 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Meta Platforms

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.