Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Shares Down 2.3% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) dropped 2.3% on Monday . The company traded as low as $559.81 and last traded at $563.85. Approximately 15,229,022 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 7% from the average daily volume of 16,349,012 shares. The stock had previously closed at $577.22.

Meta Platforms News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta is drawing bullish attention from Wall Street, with one report saying analysts’ average 12-month price target implies more than 40% upside and Evercore ISI recently reiterating a Buy rating. Wall Street Sees More Than 40% Upside for Meta Platforms (META)
• Positive Sentiment: Meta is expanding its India strategy by appointing CRED founder Kunal Shah to lead WhatsApp and investing $900 million in CRED, signaling continued commitment to growth in a key market. Meta’s WhatsApp to be led by Indian startup founder Kunal Shah
• Positive Sentiment: Several market commentary pieces framed Meta’s recent decline as an attractive long-term buying opportunity, with investors arguing the stock has been oversold alongside other megacap tech names. The Magnificent 7 Selloff Is a Rare Buying Opportunity
• Positive Sentiment: Meta is also trying to broaden engagement beyond mobile, with new Instagram-for-TV features aimed at competing for streaming/viewer attention on television screens. Meta Takes on Streaming Giants With New ‘Instagram for TV’ Offerings

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on META shares. Raymond James Financial raised Meta Platforms from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Tigress Financial lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $935.00 to $945.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Erste Group Bank cut shares of Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $885.00 to $820.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $810.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have issued a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $840.60.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $621.27 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $634.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.43 trillion, a PE ratio of 20.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.23. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data 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. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 36.93% and a net margin of 32.84%.The company had revenue of $56.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $55.56 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $6.43 earnings per share. Meta Platforms’s revenue for the quarter was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other news, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 2,079 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $609.92, for a total transaction of $1,268,023.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 1,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $681,890.56. The trade was a 65.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 2,778 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $629.45, for a total value of $1,748,612.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 10,557 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,645,103.65. This represents a 20.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 39,013 shares of company stock worth $24,115,999. 13.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Westchester Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. RHL Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Niles Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Axiom Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the first quarter worth $36,000. 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.