Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) CEO Mark Zuckerberg Sells 35,795 Shares

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 35,795 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $715.82, for a total value of $25,622,776.90. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

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

• 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 stock was sold at an average price of $696.23, for a total transaction of $9,033,584.25.
• On Wednesday, February 5th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 12,975 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were 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 stock was 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 stock was sold at an average price of $644.76, for a total value of $23,160,423.96.
• On Wednesday, January 22nd, Mark Zuckerberg sold 35,921 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $626.80, for a total value 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 value of $22,050,105.85.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Meta Platforms stock opened at $725.38 on Thursday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $414.50 and a 1-year high of $727.10. The firm has a market cap of $1.84 trillion, a P/E ratio of 30.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a current ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $634.08 and a 200-day moving average of $579.77.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 38.17% and a net margin of 37.91%. During the same period last year, the company posted $5.33 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.66 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders 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 0.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is currently 8.36%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on META. Wells Fargo & Company raised 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. Raymond James reissued a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $800.00 price target (up from $725.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Needham & Company LLC restated an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Pivotal Research raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $717.90.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Seelaus Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC now owns 1,640 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $960,000 after buying an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Meredith Wealth Planning raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Meredith Wealth Planning now owns 1,873 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,097,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Maiden Cove Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Maiden Cove Capital LLC now owns 481 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $282,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. Stephens Consulting LLC boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 317 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $186,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. Finally, VeraBank N.A. grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. VeraBank N.A. now owns 1,954 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,144,000 after purchasing an additional 16 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.