Mark Zuckerberg Sells 16,702 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Stock

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $503.34, for a total transaction of $8,406,784.68. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 275,297 shares in the company, valued at $138,567,991.98. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

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

• On Tuesday, June 11th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $503.18, for a total transaction of $8,404,112.36.
• On Thursday, June 6th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 2,011 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.92, for a total transaction of $1,007,350.12.
• On Monday, April 1st, Mark Zuckerberg sold 31,465 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $491.49, for a total transaction of $15,464,732.85.
• 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 shares were sold at an average price of $492.14, for a total transaction of $15,498,965.02.
• On Friday, March 22nd, Mark Zuckerberg sold 77,412 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $506.92, for a total transaction of $39,241,691.04.
• On Wednesday, March 20th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 31,493 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.32, for a total transaction of $15,756,577.76.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

META opened at $499.49 on Wednesday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $274.38 and a one year high of $531.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.68 and a quick ratio of 2.68. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $480.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $444.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.27 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.21.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.32 by $0.39. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.06% and a return on equity of 32.03%. The business had revenue of $36.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.28 billion. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.40%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is presently 11.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $535.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $555.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $570.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $575.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. They set an “underperform” rating and a $360.00 target price for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, thirty-seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $510.41.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Chelsea Counsel Co. bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the first quarter valued at approximately $194,000. Mosaic Family Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 3.1% in the first quarter. Mosaic Family Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,352 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $656,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Jackson Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the first quarter valued at approximately $599,000. American Trust boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.6% during the first quarter. American Trust now owns 3,179 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,544,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OMC Financial Services LTD bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the first quarter worth $4,355,000. 79.91% of the stock is 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.