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 firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $506.92, for a total transaction of $39,241,691.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

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 shares were 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 shares were 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 shares were 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 shares were 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 shares were 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 shares were 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 shares were 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 shares were 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 shares were sold at an average price of $497.61, for a total transaction of $38,520,985.32.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of META stock opened at $493.86 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 2.67 and a current ratio of 2.67. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $464.84 and its 200-day moving average is $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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $197.90 and a 52-week high of $523.57.

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

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Stone House Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 625.0% in the 3rd quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 87 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 68.9% in the 3rd quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 103 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Finally, Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $440.00 to $525.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. JMP Securities lifted 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. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $405.00 to $527.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $465.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. Finally, Raymond James lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $450.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, thirty-nine have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $496.35.

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.