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

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 77,412 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated 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 legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

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

• On Wednesday, March 27th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 31,493 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was 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 stock was 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 stock was 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 Price Performance

Meta Platforms stock opened at $493.86 on Thursday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $197.90 and a 12 month high of $523.57. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $464.84 and its 200-day moving average is $375.30. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The company has a market capitalization of $1.26 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.14, a PEG 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 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.82 by $0.51. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 29.48% and a net margin of 28.98%. The company had revenue of $40.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.00 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 19.94 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $435.00 to $535.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $415.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $405.00 to $525.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $405.00 to $527.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $397.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, thirty-nine have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $496.35.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of META. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Stone House Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 625.0% during the 3rd quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 87 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 68.9% during the 3rd quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 103 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Finally, Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by 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.