Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) CEO Mark Zuckerberg Sells 35,921 Shares

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 35,921 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $673.57, for a total value of $24,195,307.97. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Mark Zuckerberg also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, January 27th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 22,366 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $648.68, for a total value of $14,508,376.88.
• On Friday, January 24th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 35,921 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $644.76, for a total value of $23,160,423.96.
• On Wednesday, January 22nd, Mark Zuckerberg sold 35,921 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $626.80, for a total value of $22,515,282.80.
• On Friday, January 17th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 35,921 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $613.85, for a total transaction of $22,050,105.85.
• On Monday, January 13th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 35,921 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $604.69, for a total transaction of $21,721,069.49.
• On Wednesday, January 15th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 35,921 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $616.16, for a total transaction of $22,133,083.36.
• On Friday, January 10th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 12,975 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $615.41, for a total value of $7,984,944.75.
• On Monday, January 6th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 12,975 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $618.42, for a total value of $8,023,999.50.
• On Wednesday, January 8th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 35,921 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $611.10, for a total value of $21,951,323.10.
• On Friday, January 3rd, Mark Zuckerberg sold 35,921 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $603.98, for a total value of $21,695,565.58.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of META stock opened at $676.49 on Thursday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $387.10 and a twelve month high of $682.58. The stock has a market cap of $1.71 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.86, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.19. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $608.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $563.58. The company has a current ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 2.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.75 by $1.27. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 35.55% and a return on equity of 35.60%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $5.33 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.30%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.42%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of META. MGB Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 34.0% in the fourth quarter. MGB Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,166 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $684,000 after buying an additional 296 shares during the last quarter. Morris Financial Concepts Inc. boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Morris Financial Concepts Inc. now owns 1,088 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $637,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. Howard Bailey Securities LLC increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 19.9% in the 4th quarter. Howard Bailey Securities LLC now owns 602 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $352,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Hemington Wealth Management raised its position in Meta Platforms by 11.0% in the fourth quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 1,973 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,155,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares during the period. Finally, Stanley Laman Group Ltd. lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. now owns 1,964 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,150,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on META shares. Scotiabank reduced their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $585.00 to $583.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $530.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $620.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their price objective on Meta Platforms from $730.00 to $720.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $641.00 to $685.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $655.41.

Meta Platforms Company Profile

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.