Mark Zuckerberg Sells 19,668 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Stock

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 19,668 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $721.69, for a total value of $14,194,198.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

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

• On Monday, February 10th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 35,795 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $715.82, for a total value of $25,622,776.90.
• On Friday, February 7th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 55,589 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $717.72, for a total value of $39,897,337.08.
• On Monday, February 3rd, Mark Zuckerberg sold 12,975 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $696.23, for a total value of $9,033,584.25.
• 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 value of $9,035,660.25.
• On Monday, January 27th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 22,366 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $648.68, for a total value 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 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 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 value of $22,050,105.85.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $728.56 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.85 trillion, a PE ratio of 30.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.20. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $636.47 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $580.80. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $414.50 and a 12-month high of $729.00.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 previous year, the firm posted $5.33 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.525 dividend. This is a boost from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.29%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.36%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on META shares. Citigroup boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $753.00 to $780.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. DA Davidson boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $630.00 to $705.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $717.90.

Institutional Trading of Meta Platforms

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. JDM Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth $40,000. Avondale Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth $41,000. Finally, WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

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.