A Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:FB) insider lowered their holding by 4.2% earlier this year

Insiders were net sellers of Meta Platforms, Inc.’s (NASDAQ:FB ) stock during the past year. That is, insiders sold more stock than they bought.

Although we don’t think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.

Check out our latest analysis for Meta Platforms

Meta Platforms Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

The Chief Financial Officer, David Wehner, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$527k worth of shares at a price of US$341 each. That means that an insider was selling shares at around the current price of US$337. While we don’t usually like to see insider selling, it’s more concerning if the sales take place at a lower price. In this case, the big sale took place at around the current price, so it’s not too bad (but it’s still not a positive). David Wehner was the only individual insider to sell shares in the last twelve months.

David Wehner sold a total of 2.82k shares over the year at an average price of US$309. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

For those who like to find winning investments this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

Insiders at Meta Platforms Have Sold Stock Recently

The last quarter saw substantial insider selling of Meta Platforms shares. In total, Chief Financial Officer David Wehner sold US$527k worth of shares in that time, and we didn’t record any purchases whatsoever. Overall this makes us a bit cautious, but it’s not the be all and end all.

Insider Ownership

Looking at the total insider shareholdings in a company can help to inform your view of whether they are well aligned with common shareholders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Meta Platforms insiders own about US$145b worth of shares (which is 15% of the company). Most shareholders would be happy to see this sort of insider ownership, since it suggests that management incentives are well aligned with other shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Meta Platforms Tell Us?

An insider hasn’t bought Meta Platforms stock in the last three months, but there was some selling. And there weren’t any purchases to give us comfort, over the last year. On the plus side, Meta Platforms makes money, and is growing profits. While insiders do own a lot of shares in the company (which is good), our analysis of their transactions doesn’t make us feel confident about the company. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it’s also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. While conducting our analysis, we found that Meta Platforms has 1 warning sign and it would be unwise to ignore this.

But note: Meta Platforms may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with high ROE and low debt.

For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions, but not derivative transactions.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.