Mark Zuckerberg Sells 22,366 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Stock

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 22,366 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $648.68, for a total value of $14,508,376.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 580 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $376,234.40. This represents a 97.47 % 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, 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 stock was 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.
• 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 value 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 value 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 shares were sold at an average price of $618.42, for a total transaction of $8,023,999.50.
• On Wednesday, January 8th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 35,921 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $611.10, for a total transaction of $21,951,323.10.
• On Friday, January 3rd, Mark Zuckerberg sold 35,921 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $603.98, for a total transaction of $21,695,565.58.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $676.49 on Thursday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $387.10 and a 52-week high of $682.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 2.73 and a current ratio of 2.73. 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 market capitalization of $1.71 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.19.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.75 by $1.27. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 35.60% and a net margin of 35.55%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $5.33 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.30%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is currently 9.42%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Guggenheim upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $665.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $660.00 to $710.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $655.41.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of META. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 58,218 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $34,087,000 after purchasing an additional 808 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in Meta Platforms by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 140,585 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $82,314,000 after buying an additional 897 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,827,565 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $7,915,451,000 after buying an additional 118,298 shares during the period. LS Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 111.4% in the third quarter. LS Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,679 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $6,686,000 after acquiring an additional 6,155 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.7% in the third quarter. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. now owns 9,735 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $5,573,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by 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.