Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Shares Down 3.4% Following Insider Selling

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) dropped 3.4% during mid-day trading on Thursday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $596.04 and last traded at $598.44. Approximately 4,710,239 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 65% from the average daily volume of 13,620,409 shares. The stock had previously closed at $619.56.

Specifically, COO Javier Olivan sold 608 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $609.00, for a total value of $370,272.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 8,054 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,904,886. The trade was a 7.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on META shares. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $770.00 price target (up previously from $700.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $736.00 to $786.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Argus set a $775.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Arete Research raised shares of Meta Platforms to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $719.26.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 3.4 %

The stock’s fifty day moving average is $658.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $602.08. 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 company has a market capitalization of $1.52 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.23.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.75 by $1.27. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 37.91% and a return on equity of 38.17%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $5.33 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th 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 0.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.78%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of META. Howard Capital Management Group LLC increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 17.9% during the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 1,652 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $946,000 after acquiring an additional 251 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 6.5% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,368,361 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,928,185,000 after purchasing an additional 204,412 shares during the period. United Bank raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 22.2% in the third quarter. United Bank now owns 5,569 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $3,188,000 after buying an additional 1,011 shares in the last quarter. Pegasus Partners Ltd. boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 22.8% during the third quarter. Pegasus Partners Ltd. now owns 3,345 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,915,000 after buying an additional 621 shares during the period. Finally, Beta Wealth Group Inc. grew its position in Meta Platforms by 502.2% during the third quarter. Beta Wealth Group Inc. now owns 2,511 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,437,000 after buying an additional 2,094 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.