Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Shares Down 1.1% on Insider Selling

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report)'s share price traded down 1.1% during mid-day trading on Tuesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $767.01 and last traded at $767.88. 4,154,331 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 73% from the average session volume of 15,573,718 shares. The stock had previously closed at $776.37.

• META Gets Huge Upgrades: How High Analysts Think Shares Could Go

Specifically, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 15,847 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $753.43, for a total transaction of $11,939,605.21. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $719.86, for a total value of $373,607.34. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 25,550 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,392,423. This trade represents a 1.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $715.00, for a total value of $369,655.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 5,785 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,136,275. The trade was a 8.20% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

META has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $812.00 to $897.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Loop Capital upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $695.00 to $888.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Wedbush increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $920.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $808.00 to $880.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-nine have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $820.32.

• MarketBeat Week in Review – 07/28 - 08/01

Check Out Our Latest Analysis on META

Meta Platforms Stock Down 1.4%

The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $704.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $647.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.97 and a quick ratio of 1.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.93 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.27.

• Apple Stock: Big Earnings, Small Move—Time to Buy?

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The social networking company reported $7.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.75 by $1.39. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 39.33% and a net margin of 39.99%. The firm had revenue of $47.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $44.55 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $5.16 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.60%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. Csenge Advisory Group boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 12.0% in the 1st quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 9,539 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $5,498,000 after purchasing an additional 1,019 shares in the last quarter. Suvretta Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Suvretta Capital Management LLC now owns 170,338 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $99,735,000 after acquiring an additional 1,850 shares during the last quarter. Skye Global Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 130.9% in the 4th quarter. Skye Global Management LP now owns 76,200 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $44,616,000 after acquiring an additional 43,200 shares during the last quarter. ARQ Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. ARQ Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 785 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $452,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JMG Financial Group Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter valued at about $284,000. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

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.

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