Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Insider Jennifer Newstead Sells 585 Shares

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $498.59, for a total value of $291,675.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 37,813 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,853,183.67. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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 shares were 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 shares were 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 shares were 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 shares were 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 stock was sold at an average price of $404.00, for a total value of $228,664.00.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of Meta Platforms stock traded up $7.63 on Thursday, hitting $501.80. 14,784,199 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 17,051,031. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $494.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $397.43. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $207.13 and a 52 week high of $531.49. The company has a market cap of $1.28 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.68, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.20.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The social networking company reported $5.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.82 by $0.51. The firm had revenue of $40.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.12 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 28.98% and a return on equity of 29.48%. The company’s revenue was up 24.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.00 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.06 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on META shares. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $370.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and set a $500.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, March 18th. Truist Financial raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $450.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $535.00 to $590.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, thirty-eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $519.53.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Dash Acquisitions Inc. raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.3% in the first quarter. Dash Acquisitions Inc. now owns 53,370 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $26,374,000 after buying an additional 702 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.1% in the first quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 3,290 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,598,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Applied Capital LLC FL increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 20.8% during the first quarter. Applied Capital LLC FL now owns 6,868 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $3,335,000 after purchasing an additional 1,181 shares in the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.5% during the first quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 1,945 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $944,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cullinan Associates Inc. increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 26.8% during the first quarter. Cullinan Associates Inc. now owns 18,316 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $8,894,000 after purchasing an additional 3,868 shares in the last quarter. 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.