Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) CEO Sells $22,351,483.04 in Stock

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 35,921 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $622.24, for a total value of $22,351,483.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

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

• On Monday, December 16th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 35,921 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $624.85, for a total transaction of $22,445,236.85.
• On Wednesday, December 18th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 22,035 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $618.63, for a total value of $13,631,512.05.
• On Monday, December 9th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 12,975 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was 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 stock was sold at an average price of $633.25, for a total value 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 transaction 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 shares were 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 shares were 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 shares were sold at an average price of $600.75, for a total value of $295,569.00.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 3.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $597.19 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 2.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $340.01 and a fifty-two week high of $638.40. The stock has a market cap of $1.51 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.20. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $585.42 and its 200 day moving average price is $540.85.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.19 by $0.84. The firm had revenue of $40.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $40.21 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 35.55% and a return on equity of 35.60%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.33%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is currently 9.42%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

META has been the topic of several research reports. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. JMP Securities raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $635.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Bank of America increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $630.00 to $660.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $665.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $605.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $638.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 57,001.5% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 9,517,111 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $5,447,975,000 after purchasing an additional 9,500,444 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC increased its position in Meta Platforms by 61,769.3% during the third quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC now owns 4,132,870 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,365,820,000 after buying an additional 4,126,190 shares during the period. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the second quarter worth approximately $595,152,000. World Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 4,658.5% in the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 909,548 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $520,662,000 after acquiring an additional 890,434 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 48,160,608 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $27,470,870,000 after acquiring an additional 698,884 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.