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

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 19,668 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $734.49, for a total value of $14,445,949.32. The transaction 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 transaction of $25,622,776.90.
• On Wednesday, February 12th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 19,668 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $721.69, for a total transaction of $14,194,198.92.
• On Friday, February 7th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 55,589 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $717.72, for a total transaction 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 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 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 transaction of $14,508,376.88.
• On Wednesday, January 29th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 35,921 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was 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 transaction 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 transaction of $22,515,282.80.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 2.8 %

NASDAQ META traded down $20.76 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $715.91. 21,901,282 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 15,799,024. The firm has a market cap of $1.81 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.20. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $641.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $585.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.98 and a quick ratio of 2.98. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $414.50 and a 12-month high of $740.91.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted 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 period last year, the firm earned $5.33 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast 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 issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.36%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on META shares. Susquehanna boosted 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. Scotiabank increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $583.00 to $627.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Benchmark upgraded shares of Meta Platforms from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $820.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $685.00 to $752.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $800.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $717.90.

Institutional Trading of Meta Platforms

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Pacific Point Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $755,000. Wick Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 29.2% in the fourth quarter. Wick Capital Partners LLC now owns 708 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $415,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares during the period. Hudson Value Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 79.4% during the 4th quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC now owns 2,445 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,432,000 after acquiring an additional 1,082 shares in the last quarter. Vega Investment Solutions acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,041,000. Finally, Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at about $555,000. 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.