Key Points
- Jennifer Newstead sold 519 Meta shares on Dec. 16 at an average price of $643.23 for $333,836.37, leaving her with 29,696 shares — a 1.72% reduction in her stake valued at about $19.1M.
- This sale is part of a steady pattern of similar transactions (mostly 519-share sales) occurring regularly since early October, suggesting systematic, scheduled dispositions rather than a single off-cycle trade.
- By way of company context, Meta recently beat quarterly earnings (EPS $7.25 vs. $6.74 consensus), reported revenue up 26.2% year-over-year, and declared a $0.525 quarterly dividend (annualized $2.10, ~0.3% yield) payable Dec. 23.
Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $643.23, for a total transaction of $333,836.37. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 29,696 shares in the company, valued at $19,101,358.08. This trade represents a 1.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.
Jennifer Newstead also recently made the following trade(s):
- On Tuesday, December 9th, Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $664.16, for a total value of $344,699.04.
- On Tuesday, December 2nd, Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $642.22, for a total value of $333,312.18.
- On Tuesday, November 25th, Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $624.14, for a total value of $323,928.66.
- On Tuesday, November 18th, Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $591.60, for a total value of $307,040.40.
- On Monday, November 10th, Jennifer Newstead sold 516 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $631.00, for a total value of $325,596.00.
- On Tuesday, November 4th, Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $628.00, for a total transaction of $325,932.00.
- On Tuesday, October 28th, Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $753.00, for a total transaction of $390,807.00.
- On Tuesday, October 21st, Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $736.37, for a total transaction of $382,176.03.
- On Tuesday, October 14th, Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $707.85, for a total transaction of $367,374.15.
- On Tuesday, October 7th, Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $716.98, for a total transaction of $372,112.62.
Meta Platforms Stock Up 2.3%
NASDAQ:META opened at $664.45 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $479.80 and a 12-month high of $796.25. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $660.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $707.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.67 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.28.
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The social networking company reported $7.25 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $6.74 by $0.51. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 39.35% and a net margin of 30.89%.The business had revenue of $51.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $49.34 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $6.03 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 26.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.
Meta Platforms Announces Dividend
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be paid a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 15th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is 9.28%.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several research firms recently weighed in on META. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Meta Platforms from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, November 10th. Zacks Research cut shares of Meta Platforms from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $800.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $830.00 to $720.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $819.46.
Check Out Our Latest Report on Meta Platforms
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms
A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of META. Westchester Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the third quarter worth $26,000. Bare Financial Services Inc bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 237.5% during the 2nd quarter. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC now owns 54 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Briaud Financial Planning Inc acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter worth about $42,000. Finally, Knuff & Co LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter valued at about $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company's stock.
About Meta Platforms
(
Get Free Report)
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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