Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) CEO Sells $39,241,691.04 in Stock

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 77,412 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $506.92, for a total transaction of $39,241,691.04. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

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

• On Monday, March 25th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 77,412 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $504.82, for a total transaction of $39,079,125.84.
• On Wednesday, March 27th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 31,493 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $492.14, for a total transaction of $15,498,965.02.
• On Monday, March 18th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 31,493 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $492.37, for a total transaction of $15,506,208.41.
• On Wednesday, March 20th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 31,493 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.32, for a total transaction of $15,756,577.76.
• On Friday, March 15th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 77,412 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $485.11, for a total transaction of $37,553,335.32.
• On Monday, March 11th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 31,493 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $485.10, for a total transaction of $15,277,254.30.
• On Wednesday, March 13th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 77,412 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $495.66, for a total transaction of $38,370,031.92.
• On Friday, March 8th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 31,493 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $511.13, for a total transaction of $16,097,017.09.
• On Monday, March 4th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 77,412 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.60, for a total transaction of $38,752,447.20.
• On Wednesday, March 6th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 77,412 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $497.61, for a total transaction of $38,520,985.32.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $493.86 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $197.90 and a 12 month high of $523.57. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $464.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $375.30. The stock has a market cap of $1.26 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.14, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.21.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The social networking company reported $5.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.82 by $0.51. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 28.98% and a return on equity of 29.48%. The firm had revenue of $40.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $39.12 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.00 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 24.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 19.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 22nd were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 21st. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.42%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on META shares. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $400.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. JMP Securities increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $410.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $500.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, March 18th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $385.00 to $525.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $450.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, thirty-nine have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $496.35.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at $15,283,000. Fairman Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at $403,000. Ariston Services Group purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth $207,000. Warren Street Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Warren Street Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,069 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $732,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Accent Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth $6,528,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.