Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) CEO Mark Zuckerberg Sells 77,412 Shares of Stock

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 77,412 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $504.82, for a total value of $39,079,125.84. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

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

• 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 value 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 value of $39,241,691.04.
• 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 value 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 value 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 value 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 value 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 value 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 value 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 value 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 value of $38,520,985.32.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of Meta Platforms stock opened at $493.86 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.67, a current 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $464.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $375.30. The stock has a market cap of $1.26 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.82 by $0.51. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 29.48% and a net margin of 28.98%. 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 firm earned $3.00 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 24.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 19.94 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on META shares. Tigress Financial increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $435.00 to $575.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $440.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Mizuho increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $470.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $536.00 to $609.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $414.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. One investment 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $496.35.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth about $4,223,148,000. Morgan Stanley bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,072,543,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,796,633,000. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,731,491,000. Finally, FMR LLC raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 4.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 130,809,908 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $39,270,443,000 after buying an additional 5,001,647 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is 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.