Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Insider Nicholas Clegg Sells 1,131 Shares

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) insider Nicholas Clegg sold 1,131 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $577.16, for a total transaction of $652,767.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,229 shares in the company, valued at $709,329.64. This trade represents a 47.92 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Nicholas Clegg also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, November 18th, Nicholas Clegg sold 7,296 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $553.48, for a total transaction of $4,038,190.08.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $563.09 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $572.05 and its 200 day moving average is $523.31. The stock has a market cap of $1.42 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.22. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $313.66 and a 52-week high of $602.95. The company has a quick ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 2.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.19 by $0.84. The business had revenue of $40.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $40.21 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 35.60% and a net margin of 35.55%. Sell-side analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.53 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.36%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.42%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on META shares. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $605.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $670.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $600.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, September 26th. UBS Group increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $690.00 to $719.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $634.10.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. JDM Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter worth $38,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 122.2% during the second quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 80 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Halpern Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the third quarter valued at about $46,000. 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.