Meta Platforms Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NASDAQ:META)

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) saw unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Stock investors bought 495,861 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 6% compared to the average volume of 466,793 call options.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ META traded down $11.96 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $587.31. 10,418,936 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,437,543. The company has a current ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The business's fifty day moving average price is $573.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $604.15. The company has a market cap of $1.49 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.55, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.24. Meta Platforms has a 12-month low of $442.65 and a 12-month high of $740.91.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.33 by $1.10. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 37.91% and a return on equity of 38.17%. The business had revenue of $42.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $41.45 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $4.71 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.36%. This is a positive change from Meta Platforms's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is 8.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays cut their price target on Meta Platforms from $705.00 to $640.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $624.00 to $676.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Loop Capital dropped their target price on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $695.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $640.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Pivotal Research cut their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $830.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. One 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $696.45.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 12,975 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $706.72, for a total transaction of $9,169,692.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 172,046 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $121,588,349.12. This represents a 7.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $545.17, for a total transaction of $502,101.57. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 26,577 shares in the company, valued at $14,488,983.09. This trade represents a 3.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 222,724 shares of company stock worth $157,259,224. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 58,218 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $34,087,000 after purchasing an additional 808 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 140,585 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $82,314,000 after buying an additional 897 shares during the last quarter. Brueske Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth about $459,000. Apollon Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 11.1% in the 4th quarter. Apollon Financial LLC now owns 1,479 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $866,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 255.9% during 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 during the period. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.