Mark Zuckerberg Sells 420 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Stock

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 420 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.17, for a total value of $252,071.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 518,004 shares in the company, valued at $310,890,460.68. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

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

• 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 value 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 transaction of $295,569.00.
• On Friday, August 30th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 4,909 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $519.17, for a total transaction of $2,548,605.53.
• On Monday, August 26th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $520.48, for a total value of $8,693,056.96.
• On Wednesday, August 28th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 7,975 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $516.36, for a total value of $4,117,971.00.
• On Friday, August 23rd, Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $531.46, for a total value of $8,876,444.92.
• On Monday, August 19th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $526.94, for a total value of $8,800,951.88.
• On Wednesday, August 21st, Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $533.24, for a total transaction of $8,906,174.48.
• On Friday, August 16th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $529.09, for a total transaction of $8,836,861.18.
• On Monday, August 12th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $514.89, for a total transaction of $8,599,692.78.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of META opened at $567.16 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.43 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 2.83 and a current ratio of 2.73. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $308.33 and a 52 week high of $602.95. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $555.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $513.12.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.19 by $0.84. The company had revenue of $40.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $40.21 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 35.60% and a net margin of 35.55%. On average, analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 9.42%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. DA Davidson initiated coverage on Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price objective for the company. Pivotal Research increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $780.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $560.00 to $655.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $634.10.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 527.3% in the 1st quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. POM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the second quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in Meta Platforms by 122.2% during the second quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 80 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Halpern Financial Inc. bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter worth $46,000. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter valued at $49,000. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

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.