Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Insider Sells $333,312.18 in Stock

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $642.22, for a total value of $333,312.18. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 30,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,737,989.48. The trade was a 1.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Jennifer Newstead also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, November 25th, Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $624.14, for a total value of $323,928.66.
• On Tuesday, November 18th, Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $591.60, for a total value of $307,040.40.
• On Monday, November 10th, Jennifer Newstead sold 516 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $631.00, for a total value of $325,596.00.
• On Tuesday, November 4th, Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $628.00, for a total value of $325,932.00.
• On Tuesday, October 28th, Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $753.00, for a total value of $390,807.00.
• On Tuesday, October 21st, Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $736.37, for a total transaction of $382,176.03.
• On Tuesday, October 14th, Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $707.85, for a total transaction of $367,374.15.
• On Tuesday, October 7th, Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $716.98, for a total transaction of $372,112.62.
• On Tuesday, September 30th, Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $741.50, for a total transaction of $384,838.50.
• On Tuesday, September 23rd, Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $769.20, for a total transaction of $399,214.80.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of Meta Platforms stock traded up $21.93 during trading on Thursday, reaching $661.53. 29,809,192 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 15,535,065. The company has a market capitalization of $1.67 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.28. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $676.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $706.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.98 and a quick ratio of 1.98. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $479.80 and a 52-week high of $796.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The social networking company reported $7.25 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.74 by $0.51. The company had revenue of $51.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $49.34 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 39.35% and a net margin of 30.89%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $6.03 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be given a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 15th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.28%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 1st. Rosenblatt Securities upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $1,086.00 to $1,117.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $870.00 price target (down previously from $900.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their price objective on Meta Platforms from $830.00 to $720.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $800.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $819.43.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Westchester Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the third quarter valued at $26,000. Bare Financial Services Inc bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 237.5% during the 2nd quarter. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC now owns 54 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Briaud Financial Planning Inc purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Knuff & Co LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter worth about $44,000. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

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.