Mark Zuckerberg Sells 55,589 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Stock

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 55,589 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $717.72, for a total value of $39,897,337.08. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

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

• 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 stock was 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 transaction 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 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 value 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 shares were sold at an average price of $616.16, for a total value of $22,133,083.36.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

META stock opened at $719.80 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $1.82 trillion, a PE ratio of 30.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.20. 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 50-day moving average price of $631.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $578.74. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $414.50 and a 12-month high of $725.01.

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

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Susquehanna raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $680.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $670.00 to $775.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $770.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Two 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 given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $717.90.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. AMF Tjanstepension AB grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 32.5% in the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 457,092 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $261,680,000 after purchasing an additional 112,047 shares in the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 31,180 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $17,849,000 after acquiring an additional 323 shares in the last quarter. CRA Financial Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. CRA Financial Services LLC now owns 13,874 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $7,942,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Montis Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 32.9% during the 3rd quarter. Montis Financial LLC now owns 934 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $534,000 after acquiring an additional 231 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Annex Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 12.7% during the third quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC now owns 70,057 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $40,104,000 after purchasing an additional 7,919 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.