Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) CEO Mark Zuckerberg Sells 10,100 Shares

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 10,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $601.54, for a total value of $6,075,554.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

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

• On Monday, December 16th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 35,921 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was 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 shares were 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 value 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 transaction of $7,971,321.00.
• On Wednesday, December 11th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 35,921 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $633.25, for a total transaction of $22,746,973.25.
• On Friday, December 6th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 22,946 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $621.84, for a total value of $14,268,740.64.
• On Tuesday, December 3rd, Mark Zuckerberg sold 35,921 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.97, for a total value of $21,838,890.37.
• On Wednesday, October 30th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 420 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was 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.
• 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 value of $295,569.00.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

NASDAQ META traded up $14.60 during trading on Monday, reaching $599.85. 10,188,837 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 14,850,178. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 2.73 and a current ratio of 2.73. The company has a market cap of $1.51 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.20. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $340.01 and a 1-year high of $638.40. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $585.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $542.77.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.19 by $0.84. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 35.55% and a return on equity of 35.60%. The business had revenue of $40.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $40.21 billion. As a group, analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.68 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.42%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Independent Solutions Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 11.6% during the 3rd quarter. Independent Solutions Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,908 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $5,099,000 after purchasing an additional 928 shares during the period. SMART Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 53.7% during the third quarter. SMART Wealth LLC now owns 1,374 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $787,000 after purchasing an additional 480 shares during the period. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.0% in the third quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 613,015 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $350,914,000 after purchasing an additional 6,249 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Wealth Management LLC MS acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the third quarter valued at about $433,000. Finally, SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 33.9% during the 3rd quarter. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda now owns 13,500 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $7,728,000 after buying an additional 3,420 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on META shares. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Roth Mkm increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $620.00 to $635.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $620.00 to $660.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $690.00 to $719.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Pivotal Research raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $780.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Two equities research 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus 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.