Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) CEO Mark Zuckerberg Sells 12,975 Shares

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 12,975 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $696.23, for a total value of $9,033,584.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 197,996 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $137,850,755.08. This represents a 6.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

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

• On Wednesday, February 5th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 12,975 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $706.72, for a total value of $9,169,692.00.
• On Friday, January 31st, Mark Zuckerberg sold 12,975 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $696.39, for a total transaction of $9,035,660.25.
• 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 transaction of $14,508,376.88.
• On Wednesday, January 29th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 35,921 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $673.57, for a total value of $24,195,307.97.
• On Friday, January 24th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 35,921 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was 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 shares were 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 shares were 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 stock was sold at an average price of $615.41, for a total value of $7,984,944.75.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 0.1 %

NASDAQ:META traded up $0.68 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $704.87. 17,774,527 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 16,128,546. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.78 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.47, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.20. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $414.50 and a 12 month high of $718.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a current ratio of 2.98. The company has a fifty day moving average of $621.57 and a 200 day moving average of $571.15.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.75 by $1.27. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.17% and a net margin of 37.91%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $5.33 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 25.94 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.28%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.36%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of META. Seelaus Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC now owns 1,640 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $960,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the period. Meredith Wealth Planning increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Meredith Wealth Planning now owns 1,873 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,097,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 317 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $186,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares during the period. VeraBank N.A. increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. VeraBank N.A. now owns 1,954 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,144,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LGL Partners LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. LGL Partners LLC now owns 2,834 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,659,000 after buying an additional 16 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $688.00 to $765.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $770.00 price target (up from $700.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Truist Financial upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $770.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Two 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 issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $710.83.

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.