Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Insider Jennifer Newstead Sells 519 Shares of Stock

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $664.16, for a total transaction of $344,699.04. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 30,215 shares in the company, valued at $20,067,594.40. This represents a 1.69% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

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

• On Tuesday, December 2nd, Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $642.22, for a total transaction of $333,312.18.
• 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 transaction 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 shares were sold at an average price of $628.00, for a total transaction 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 value 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 value 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.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

NASDAQ:META traded up $2.58 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $652.71. 12,995,424 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 15,534,139. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.65 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.28. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $479.80 and a 1 year high of $796.25. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $668.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $707.04. The company has a quick ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The social networking company reported $7.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.74 by $0.51. The business had revenue of $51.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $49.34 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 39.35% and a net margin of 30.89%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 26.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $6.03 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on META. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $837.00 to $802.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $875.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Meta Platforms from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $900.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $819.46.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Westchester Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Bare Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the second quarter worth $30,000. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC increased its position in Meta Platforms by 237.5% in the second quarter. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC now owns 54 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Briaud Financial Planning Inc bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the second quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the second quarter valued at $44,000. 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.