Insider Selling: Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) CEO Sells 1,462 Shares of Stock

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 1,462 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $701.13, for a total transaction of $1,025,052.06. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 139,538 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $97,834,277.94. This trade represents a 1.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

NASDAQ:META opened at $694.06 on Tuesday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $442.65 and a 52-week high of $740.91. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $589.87 and a 200 day moving average of $616.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a current ratio of 2.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.75 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.26.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.33 by $1.10. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.17% and a net margin of 37.91%. The firm had revenue of $42.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $41.45 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $4.71 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.30%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is presently 8.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on META shares. Barclays decreased their price target on Meta Platforms from $705.00 to $640.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $735.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $628.00 to $655.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $685.00 to $690.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Raymond James decreased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $750.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $702.48.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. First Long Island Investors LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 29.0% during the 1st quarter. First Long Island Investors LLC now owns 46,902 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $27,032,000 after buying an additional 10,531 shares in the last quarter. eCIO Inc. purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the first quarter valued at about $58,000. Militia Capital Partners LP bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the first quarter worth about $922,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 108.2% during the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 383 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $221,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invst LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 38.7% in the 1st quarter. Invst LLC now owns 6,937 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $3,998,000 after purchasing an additional 1,934 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

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.