Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Shares Down 5.1% Following Insider Selling

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)’s share price dropped 5.1% during trading on Monday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $599.53 and last traded at $600.47. Approximately 28,416,693 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 78% from the average daily volume of 15,925,048 shares. The stock had previously closed at $632.51.

Specifically, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 2,079 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $609.92, for a total value of $1,268,023.68. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $681,890.56. The trade was a 65.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 629 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $608.98, for a total value of $383,048.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 2,144 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,305,653.12. This trade represents a 22.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 837 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $608.98, for a total value of $509,716.26. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 13,823 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,417,930.54. The trade was a 5.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

META has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $775.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Tigress Financial boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $935.00 to $945.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $810.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday. Guggenheim dropped their price target on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price target on Meta Platforms from $885.00 to $820.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $840.19.

Trending Headlines about Meta Platforms

Here are the key news stories impacting Meta Platforms this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed its Outperform rating on Meta and raised its price target to $810, implying meaningful upside from recent levels. Benzinga/RBC reaffirmation
• Positive Sentiment: New research ranked Meta among the top S&P 500 companies in AI adoption, reinforcing the view that its AI investments could support longer-term growth. CNBC AI adoption study
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America reiterated a Buy rating and a $835 target, saying early AI monetization and enterprise adoption could improve sentiment around Meta’s spending plans. Yahoo Finance/Bank of America note
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta is reportedly working on an AI pendant and broader wearables efforts, which could open new product opportunities but remain early-stage and speculative. PYMNTS wearable report
• Negative Sentiment: European consumer groups filed complaints under the Digital Services Act, alleging Meta has not done enough to stop financial scams on its platforms, raising the risk of regulatory scrutiny and fines. Yahoo Finance DSA complaint
• Negative Sentiment: Meta is also facing a planned multi-billion-pound group legal action in the U.K. over scam ads on Facebook and Instagram, adding to liability concerns. GlobeNewswire legal action
• Negative Sentiment: Instagram resolved a security issue after hackers reportedly tricked Meta’s AI support chatbot into granting account access, highlighting ongoing platform trust and security risks. TechCrunch security issue
• Negative Sentiment: Meta’s stock also saw pressure after reports of an insider sale, which can add to short-term selling sentiment even if the transaction was modest. TipRanks insider sale report

Meta Platforms Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.52 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.25. The business has a 50-day moving average of $617.84 and a 200 day moving average of $636.92. The company has a current ratio of 2.35, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.67 by $3.77. The business had revenue of $56.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.56 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 36.93% and a net margin of 32.84%.Meta Platforms’s quarterly revenue was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $6.43 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is 7.63%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Auto Owners Insurance Co grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 76,587.7% during the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 105,292,277 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $69,502,379,000 after acquiring an additional 105,154,977 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at about $22,152,075,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 199,995,630 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $132,015,115,000 after acquiring an additional 7,269,279 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 488.1% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 5,466,595 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $3,608,445,000 after acquiring an additional 4,537,076 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 90,841,345 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $59,963,463,000 after acquiring an additional 4,395,763 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Company Profile

Meta Platforms, Inc (NASDAQ: META), formerly Facebook, Inc, is a global technology company best known for building social networking services and immersive computing platforms. Founded in 2004 and headquartered in Menlo Park, California, the company operates a family of consumer-facing products and services that connect users, creators and businesses. In October 2021 the company rebranded as Meta to reflect an expanded strategic focus on augmented and virtual reality technologies alongside its social media businesses.

Meta’s core consumer products include Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger, which enable social networking, messaging, content sharing and community building across mobile and desktop devices.