Mark Zuckerberg Sells 16,702 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Stock

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $510.88, for a total value of $8,532,717.76. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 230,461 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $117,737,915.68. The sale 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 Monday, June 24th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 9,760 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $502.87, for a total value of $4,908,011.20.
• On Friday, June 21st, Mark Zuckerberg sold 2,054 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $501.05, for a total transaction of $1,029,156.70.
• On Friday, June 14th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $503.34, for a total transaction of $8,406,784.68.
• On Tuesday, June 11th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $503.18, for a total transaction of $8,404,112.36.
• On Thursday, June 6th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 2,011 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.92, for a total value of $1,007,350.12.
• On Monday, April 1st, Mark Zuckerberg sold 31,465 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $491.49, for a total value of $15,464,732.85.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Meta Platforms stock opened at $519.56 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.68 and a quick ratio of 2.68. The company has a market cap of $1.32 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.21. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $274.38 and a fifty-two week high of $531.49. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $479.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $452.69.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.32 by $0.39. The business had revenue of $36.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.28 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 32.03% and a net margin of 32.06%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.16 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.38%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is 11.49%.

Institutional Trading of Meta Platforms

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Stone House Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 625.0% in the 3rd quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 87 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 68.9% during the third quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 103 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Clear Investment Research LLC grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 411.1% in the fourth quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 92 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Delos Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position 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 worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on META shares. Roth Mkm upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $500.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $527.00 to $588.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $590.00 to $565.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $520.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, thirty-seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $510.05.

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.