Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Insider Sells $291,675.15 in Stock

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $498.59, for a total value of $291,675.15. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 37,813 shares in the company, valued at $18,853,183.67. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

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

• On Tuesday, April 9th, Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $522.00, for a total value of $305,370.00.
• On Tuesday, April 2nd, Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $485.00, for a total value of $283,725.00.
• On Tuesday, March 26th, Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.29, for a total value of $295,594.65.
• On Tuesday, March 19th, Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $488.50, for a total value of $285,772.50.
• On Tuesday, March 12th, Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $493.75, for a total value of $288,843.75.
• On Tuesday, March 5th, Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $495.00, for a total value of $289,575.00.
• On Tuesday, February 27th, Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $480.00, for a total value of $280,800.00.
• On Tuesday, February 20th, Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $469.88, for a total value of $274,879.80.
• On Tuesday, February 6th, Jennifer Newstead sold 552 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $464.00, for a total value of $256,128.00.
• On Tuesday, January 30th, Jennifer Newstead sold 566 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $404.00, for a total value of $228,664.00.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

META stock opened at $501.80 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $494.29 and a 200-day moving average price of $397.43. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $207.13 and a 52-week high of $531.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.28 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.68, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 2.67 and a current ratio of 2.67.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The social networking company reported $5.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.82 by $0.51. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 28.98% and a return on equity of 29.48%. The firm had revenue of $40.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.12 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.00 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 24.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 22nd were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 21st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.40%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is currently 13.42%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. Plimoth Trust Co. LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms by 16.0% in the 1st quarter. Plimoth Trust Co. LLC now owns 1,606 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $780,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares during the period. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms by 8.9% in the 1st quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 19,840 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $9,634,000 after purchasing an additional 1,624 shares during the period. Saxon Interests Inc. grew its position in Meta Platforms by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. Saxon Interests Inc. now owns 5,409 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,627,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the period. Naviter Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 50.9% during the 1st quarter. Naviter Wealth LLC now owns 8,952 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $4,347,000 after acquiring an additional 3,019 shares during the period. Finally, Myecfo LLC grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 22.7% during the 1st quarter. Myecfo LLC now owns 993 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $482,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on META shares. Susquehanna increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $400.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $450.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Wolfe Research increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $430.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Raymond James increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $450.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $580.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, thirty-eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $519.53.

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.