Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) CEO Mark Zuckerberg Sells 35,921 Shares

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 35,921 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $624.85, for a total transaction of $22,445,236.85. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

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

• 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 transaction 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 shares were 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 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 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 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 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 shares were sold at an average price of $600.75, for a total value of $295,569.00.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $597.19 on Thursday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $340.01 and a 52-week high of $638.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.51 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.13, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a quick ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 2.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $585.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $540.85.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.19 by $0.84. The company had revenue of $40.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $40.21 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 35.55% and a return on equity of 35.60%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.33%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.42%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

META has been the topic of several analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Mizuho raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $665.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised Meta Platforms to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $638.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of META. JDM Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the second quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Halpern Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the third quarter worth approximately $46,000. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter worth $49,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.