Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) CEO Sells $21,712,807.66 in Stock

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 35,921 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $604.46, for a total transaction of $21,712,807.66. 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 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 transaction of $6,075,554.00.
• On Monday, December 16th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 35,921 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were 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 stock was sold at an average price of $618.63, for a total value 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 value of $7,971,321.00.
• On Wednesday, December 11th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 35,921 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was 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 transaction 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 transaction 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 transaction of $252,071.40.
• On Monday, October 14th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 84 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.00, for a total transaction of $50,400.00.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Meta Platforms stock traded down $4.40 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $603.35. 6,069,569 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,774,323. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $340.01 and a fifty-two week high of $638.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.52 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.20. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $586.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $544.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 2.73 and a current ratio of 2.73.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.19 by $0.84. The firm had revenue of $40.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $40.21 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 35.55% and a return on equity of 35.60%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.33%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.42%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. JDM Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Halpern Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the third quarter worth $46,000. West Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the third quarter valued at about $49,000. Finally, Hoese & Co LLP lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 2,000.0% in the third quarter. Hoese & Co LLP now owns 105 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on META. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $811.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $585.00 to $583.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. UBS Group lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $690.00 to $719.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Roth Mkm raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $620.00 to $635.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $638.00.

About Meta Platforms

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.