Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Stock Price Down 0.1% After Insider Selling

Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) fell 0.1% on Wednesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $494.54 and last traded at $495.74. 7,528,534 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 56% from the average session volume of 17,004,471 shares. The stock had previously closed at $496.10.

Specifically, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 8,036 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $473.28, for a total transaction of $3,803,278.08. Following the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 18,432 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,723,496.96. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 490 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $501.18, for a total transaction of $245,578.20. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 7,089 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,552,865.02. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 8,036 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $473.28, for a total transaction of $3,803,278.08. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now directly owns 18,432 shares in the company, valued at $8,723,496.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 1,368,244 shares of company stock valued at $657,034,449. Corporate insiders own 14.03% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $380.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $609.00 to $600.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $450.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $400.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $400.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, thirty-eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $520.28.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.26 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.12, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.20. The stock's 50 day moving average is $495.52 and its 200 day moving average is $402.50. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The social networking company reported $5.33 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.82 by $0.51. The firm had revenue of $40.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $39.12 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 28.98% and a return on equity of 29.48%. The firm's revenue was up 24.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.00 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.41%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is currently 13.42%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 451,581 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $159,841,000 after purchasing an additional 32,423 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Stockton boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 9.2% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Stockton now owns 4,743 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $1,819,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Signify Wealth purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth about $228,000. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 223,788 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $79,212,000 after acquiring an additional 4,025 shares during the period. Finally, Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. now owns 10,962 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $3,880,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares during the period. 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.