Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Stock Price Down 1.2% Following Insider Selling

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)’s share price fell 1.2% during trading on Wednesday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $609.00 and last traded at $612.49. Approximately 34,310,399 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 91% from the average daily volume of 17,938,561 shares. The stock had previously closed at $620.19.

Specifically, COO Javier Olivan sold 629 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $640.00, for a total value of $402,560.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 890 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $569,600. The trade was a 41.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 946 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $640.00, for a total transaction of $605,440.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 5,040 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,225,600. This represents a 15.80% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

META has been the topic of a number of research reports. Rothschild & Co Redburn upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Erste Group Bank upgraded Meta Platforms from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Raymond James Financial lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $860.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $820.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 25th. Finally, Loop Capital boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $740.00 to $955.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $833.12.

Meta Platforms News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta settled a teen lawsuit alleging that Instagram and Facebook contributed to addiction, depression and eating disorders. Financial terms were not disclosed, but the agreement removes Meta from an upcoming Los Angeles trial and reduces near-term litigation uncertainty. Reuters settlement report
• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s advertising fundamentals remain strong: recent coverage cited higher ad pricing, rising impressions, improved AI-driven ad conversions and strong engagement. Analysts also see meaningful upside, with one fair-value estimate raised from $813.65 to $848.38 per share. Meta fair value report
• Positive Sentiment: Meta expanded its relationship with Advanced Micro Devices, including a $1 billion equity investment and multi-generation chip co-design for Meta’s AI data centers. The deal may improve access to computing capacity and supplier diversification. AMD and Meta partnership report

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The firm has a market cap of $1.57 trillion, a PE ratio of 20.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.19. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $668.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $632.39.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 22nd. The social networking company reported $7.40 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.54 by $0.86. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 31.15% and a return on equity of 30.73%. The company had revenue of $64.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.34 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $7.25 EPS. Meta Platforms’s quarterly revenue was up 26.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 28th. Investors of record on Monday, September 21st were paid a dividend of $0.5250 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 21st. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.16%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in META. Penney Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Penney Financial LLC now owns 399 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $228,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Barnes Pettey Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.0% during the first quarter. Barnes Pettey Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,519 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $869,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the period. Bill Few Associates Inc. lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.3% during the third quarter. Bill Few Associates Inc. now owns 1,206 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $874,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 866 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $630,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. Finally, CWS Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. CWS Financial Advisors LLC now owns 985 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $564,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Company Profile

Meta Platforms, Inc is a technology company that develops social networking, messaging, virtual and augmented reality, and artificial intelligence products. The company’s principal platforms include Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp, and Threads, which enable users to connect, communicate, share content, and discover products and services.

Meta also operates Reality Labs, its division focused on virtual, augmented, and mixed reality technologies. Reality Labs develops products such as Meta Quest virtual reality headsets and related software and experiences, along with research and hardware intended to support immersive computing.