Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Stock Price Down 2.9% After Insider Selling

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)’s share price was down 2.9% during mid-day trading on Wednesday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $607.77 and last traded at $609.01. Approximately 24,221,789 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 59% from the average daily volume of 15,256,126 shares. The stock had previously closed at $627.08.

Specifically, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 516 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $631.00, for a total value of $325,596.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 26,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,860,951. The trade was a 1.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Monday, November 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $631.00, for a total transaction of $326,227.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 6,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,369,044. This represents a 6.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $628.00, for a total value of $325,932.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 27,237 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,104,836. This represents a 1.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on META. Roth Capital reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $1,086.00 to $1,117.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $800.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. JMP Securities boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $710.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-seven have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $827.60.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 2.9%

The company has a market capitalization of $1.54 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.90, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.98 and a quick ratio of 1.98. The company has a 50 day moving average of $721.92 and a 200-day moving average of $705.05.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The social networking company reported $7.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.74 by $0.51. The business had revenue of $51.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $49.34 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 39.35% and a net margin of 30.89%.The business’s revenue was up 26.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $6.03 EPS. Meta Platforms has set its Q4 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 22nd were issued a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 22nd. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.28%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in META. Csenge Advisory Group boosted its stake 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 buying an additional 1,019 shares during the last quarter. ARQ Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 4.5% in the first 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 period. JMG Financial Group Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter worth approximately $284,000. Infusive Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 10.7% in the first quarter. Infusive Asset Management Inc. now owns 23,620 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $13,614,000 after buying an additional 2,285 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Spirepoint Private Client LLC raised its position in Meta Platforms by 2.7% in the second quarter. Spirepoint Private Client LLC now owns 4,080 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $3,011,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

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.