Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Stock Price Down 1% – Here’s What Happened

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)’s stock price dropped 1% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $643.40 and last traded at $650.13. Approximately 15,930,177 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 3% from the average daily volume of 15,540,646 shares. The stock had previously closed at $656.96.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on META shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $925.00 to $815.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on Meta Platforms from $880.00 to $840.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Oppenheimer downgraded Meta Platforms from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, KeyCorp reduced their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $905.00 to $875.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $821.63.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 1.0%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a current ratio of 1.98. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $670.07 and its 200 day moving average is $707.44. The stock has a market cap of $1.64 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.28.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The social networking company reported $7.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.74 by $0.51. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 30.89% and a return on equity of 39.35%. The firm had revenue of $51.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $49.34 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $6.03 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 26.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 15th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is presently 9.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In related news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 11,690 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $593.31, for a total value of $6,935,793.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 2,415 shares in the company, valued at $1,432,843.65. The trade was a 82.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 2,610 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Saturday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $609.46, for a total value of $1,590,690.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 9,784 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,962,956.64. The trade was a 21.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 40,923 shares of company stock worth $25,887,293. Insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.4% during the second quarter. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors now owns 3,506 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,587,000 after buying an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. Pachira Investments Inc. grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Pachira Investments Inc. now owns 488 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $360,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Hemington Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 2,223 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,641,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Trust Co of the South increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.8% in the third quarter. Trust Co of the South now owns 1,850 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,359,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sentinel Pension Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.6% in the third quarter. Sentinel Pension Advisors LLC now owns 915 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $672,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.