Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) CEO Sells $22,351,483.04 in Stock

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 35,921 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $622.24, for a total transaction of $22,351,483.04. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

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

• On Monday, December 9th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 12,975 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $614.36, for a total transaction of $7,971,321.00.
• On Wednesday, December 11th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 35,921 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $633.25, for a total value of $22,746,973.25.
• On Friday, December 6th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 22,946 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $621.84, for a total value of $14,268,740.64.
• On Tuesday, December 3rd, Mark Zuckerberg sold 35,921 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.97, for a total value of $21,838,890.37.
• On Wednesday, October 30th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 420 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.17, for a total transaction of $252,071.40.
• On Monday, October 14th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 84 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.00, for a total transaction of $50,400.00.
• On Monday, October 7th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 492 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.75, for a total transaction of $295,569.00.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META opened at $619.44 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $1.56 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.18, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.20. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $337.02 and a twelve month high of $638.40. 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 firm’s 50 day moving average price is $585.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $540.45.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.19 by $0.84. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 35.55% and a return on equity of 35.60%. The business had revenue of $40.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $40.21 billion. On average, analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.32%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.42%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. SMART Wealth LLC boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 53.7% during the third quarter. SMART Wealth LLC now owns 1,374 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $787,000 after purchasing an additional 480 shares during the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 613,015 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $350,914,000 after buying an additional 6,249 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Wealth Management LLC MS acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $433,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 33.9% in the third quarter. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda now owns 13,500 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $7,728,000 after buying an additional 3,420 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 1ST Source Bank increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 3.4% during the third quarter. 1ST Source Bank now owns 5,280 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $3,022,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $690.00 to $719.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $560.00 to $655.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Bank of America raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $630.00 to $660.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Needham & Company LLC reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Guggenheim raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $665.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $636.41.

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.