Mark Zuckerberg Sells 2,311 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Stock

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 2,311 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.21, for a total transaction of $1,387,085.31. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

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

• On Tuesday, December 24th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 35,921 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was 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 stock was 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 transaction 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 transaction of $22,351,483.04.
• 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 shares were 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 value of $252,071.40.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

META opened at $585.51 on Wednesday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $340.01 and a 1 year high of $638.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 2.73 and a quick ratio of 2.73. The company has a market capitalization of $1.48 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.20. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $588.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $547.56.

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

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.34%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.42%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV now owns 37,852 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $19,086,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares during the period. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the second quarter worth $9,112,000. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.8% in the second quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 925,333 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $466,571,000 after buying an additional 16,577 shares during the period. Boston Financial Mangement LLC lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC now owns 19,520 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $9,842,000 after buying an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 279,614 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $140,987,000 after acquiring an additional 7,109 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

META has been the topic of a number of research reports. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Barclays increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Hsbc Global Res raised Meta Platforms to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $620.00 to $660.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Roth Mkm raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $620.00 to $635.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $638.00.

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.