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 business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $701.10, for a total transaction of $2,469,975.30. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available 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 transaction 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 transaction 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 stock was sold at an average price of $721.69, for a total value 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 value 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 value 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 transaction of $9,035,660.25.
• On Monday, January 27th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 22,366 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $648.68, for a total transaction of $14,508,376.88.
• On Wednesday, January 29th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 35,921 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $673.57, for a total transaction of $24,195,307.97.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

META stock traded down $15.42 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $668.13. 15,639,570 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 15,749,363. The stock has a market cap of $1.69 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.93, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a current ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $647.09 and its 200 day moving average is $591.96. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $414.50 and a 52-week high of $740.91.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.75 by $1.27. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.17% and a net margin of 37.91%. During the same period last year, the business earned $5.33 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on META shares. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and issued a $811.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, January 27th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Argus set a $775.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $583.00 to $627.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Raymond James reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $800.00 price objective (up from $725.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Two investment 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $719.26.

Institutional Trading of Meta Platforms

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Instrumental Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 12.1% during the 4th quarter. Instrumental Wealth LLC now owns 1,190 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $697,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Hall Capital Management Co. Inc. bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at $2,012,000. Liberty Square Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth $1,833,000. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 11.4% in the 4th quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 45,746 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $26,785,000 after buying an additional 4,672 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cypress Asset Management Inc. TX bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth about $6,222,000. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

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.