Mark Zuckerberg Sells 35,921 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Stock

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 35,921 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $603.98, for a total value of $21,695,565.58. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

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

• On Friday, December 27th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 2,311 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.21, for a total value of $1,387,085.31.
• On Tuesday, December 24th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 35,921 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $604.46, for a total value of $21,712,807.66.
• On Friday, December 20th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 10,100 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $601.54, for a total value of $6,075,554.00.
• On Monday, December 16th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 35,921 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $624.85, for a total value of $22,445,236.85.
• On Wednesday, December 18th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 22,035 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $618.63, for a total value of $13,631,512.05.
• On Friday, December 13th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 35,921 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $622.24, for a total value of $22,351,483.04.
• On Monday, December 9th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 12,975 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $614.36, for a total value 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 shares were 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.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 2.0 %

Meta Platforms stock opened at $617.89 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $1.56 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.10, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.20. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $591.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $551.33. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $352.05 and a 12 month high of $638.40. The company has a current ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 2.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

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

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.42%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on META shares. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. DA Davidson started coverage on Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $590.00 to $663.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $715.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $630.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Two equities research 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $645.80.

Institutional Trading of Meta Platforms

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of META. Fiera Capital Corp increased its position in Meta Platforms by 35.1% during the second quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 27,272 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $13,751,000 after acquiring an additional 7,089 shares during the last quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Meta Platforms by 10.8% during the second quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. now owns 23,210 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $11,703,000 after acquiring an additional 2,259 shares during the last quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC increased its position in Meta Platforms by 28.2% during the second quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC now owns 4,719 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,379,000 after acquiring an additional 1,037 shares during the last quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC increased its position in Meta Platforms by 1.8% during the second quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 22,919 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $11,556,000 after acquiring an additional 413 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Certus Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the second quarter worth about $222,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Company Profile

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.