Mark Zuckerberg Sells 3,523 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Stock

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 3,523 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $701.10, for a total value of $2,469,975.30. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

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

• On Wednesday, February 19th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 19,668 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $703.21, for a total value of $13,830,734.28.
• On Friday, February 14th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 19,668 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $734.49, for a total value of $14,445,949.32.
• On Monday, February 10th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 35,795 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $715.82, for a total value of $25,622,776.90.
• On Wednesday, February 12th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 19,668 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $721.69, for a total transaction of $14,194,198.92.
• On Friday, February 7th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 55,589 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $717.72, for a total transaction of $39,897,337.08.
• On Monday, February 3rd, Mark Zuckerberg sold 12,975 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $696.23, for a total transaction of $9,033,584.25.
• On Wednesday, February 5th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 12,975 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $706.72, for a total transaction of $9,169,692.00.
• On Friday, January 31st, Mark Zuckerberg sold 12,975 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $696.39, for a total value of $9,035,660.25.
• On Monday, January 27th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 22,366 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $648.68, for a total value of $14,508,376.88.
• On Wednesday, January 29th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 35,921 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $673.57, for a total value of $24,195,307.97.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META opened at $668.13 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.98, a current ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $414.50 and a 52-week high of $740.91. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $647.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $593.08. The company has a market capitalization of $1.69 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.20.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.75 by $1.27. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 37.91% and a return on equity of 38.17%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.33 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.31%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is currently 8.78%.

Institutional Trading of Meta Platforms

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Valley Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Valley Financial Group Inc. now owns 588 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $344,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Lantern Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Lantern Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,976 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,743,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC now owns 1,640 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $960,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Meredith Wealth Planning grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Meredith Wealth Planning now owns 1,873 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,097,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Maiden Cove Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Maiden Cove Capital LLC now owns 481 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $282,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on META. Argus set a $775.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $680.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $800.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $719.26.

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.