Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) CEO Mark Zuckerberg Sells 420 Shares

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 420 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.17, for a total transaction of $252,071.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 518,004 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $310,890,460.68. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

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

• On Monday, October 14th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 84 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.00, for a total transaction of $50,400.00.
• On Monday, October 7th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 492 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.75, for a total transaction of $295,569.00.
• On Friday, August 30th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 4,909 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $519.17, for a total transaction of $2,548,605.53.
• On Monday, August 26th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $520.48, for a total transaction of $8,693,056.96.
• On Wednesday, August 28th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 7,975 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $516.36, for a total transaction of $4,117,971.00.
• On Friday, August 23rd, Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $531.46, for a total transaction of $8,876,444.92.
• On Monday, August 19th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $526.94, for a total transaction of $8,800,951.88.
• On Wednesday, August 21st, Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $533.24, for a total transaction of $8,906,174.48.
• On Friday, August 16th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $529.09, for a total transaction of $8,836,861.18.
• On Monday, August 12th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $514.89, for a total transaction of $8,599,692.78.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

NASDAQ:META opened at $567.16 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.83 and a quick ratio of 2.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.43 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.72, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.22. The company’s 50-day moving average is $555.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $513.03. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $308.33 and a 1-year high of $602.95.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.19 by $0.84. The business had revenue of $40.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $40.21 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 35.55% and a return on equity of 36.26%. Analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.47 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is currently 9.42%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on META. Pivotal Research lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $780.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $620.00 price objective for the company. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $811.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $620.00 to $660.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $634.10.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Troy Asset Management Ltd increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. Troy Asset Management Ltd now owns 101,634 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $58,179,000 after purchasing an additional 5,266 shares during the last quarter. Mach 1 Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter. Mach 1 Financial Group LLC now owns 2,016 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,154,000 after buying an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 39,414 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $22,569,000 after purchasing an additional 428 shares during the period. XML Financial LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 7.7% during the 3rd quarter. XML Financial LLC now owns 1,685 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $965,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Finally, Austin Asset Management Co Inc boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Austin Asset Management Co Inc now owns 1,617 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $926,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.