Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) CEO Mark Zuckerberg Sells 55,589 Shares

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 55,589 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $717.72, for a total value of $39,897,337.08. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

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

• 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 transaction 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 transaction of $14,194,198.92.
• 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 value 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 value 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 value 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.
• On Friday, January 24th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 35,921 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $644.76, for a total transaction of $23,160,423.96.
• On Wednesday, January 22nd, Mark Zuckerberg sold 35,921 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $626.80, for a total transaction of $22,515,282.80.
• On Friday, January 17th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 35,921 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $613.85, for a total transaction of $22,050,105.85.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

NASDAQ:META traded up $3.18 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $728.56. 12,539,517 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 15,549,646. 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 business has a fifty day moving average price of $636.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $580.80. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $414.50 and a 1-year high of $729.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.85 trillion, a PE ratio of 30.46, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.20.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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 net margin of 37.91% and a return on equity of 38.17%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.33 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. This is a positive change from Meta Platforms's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.29%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is currently 8.36%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in META. AMF Tjanstepension AB lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 32.5% in the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 457,092 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $261,680,000 after buying an additional 112,047 shares in the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.0% in the third quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 31,180 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $17,849,000 after acquiring an additional 323 shares during the last quarter. CRA Financial Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.6% during the third quarter. CRA Financial Services LLC now owns 13,874 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $7,942,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Montis Financial LLC boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 32.9% during the third quarter. Montis Financial LLC now owns 934 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $534,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Annex Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 12.7% in the third quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC now owns 70,057 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $40,104,000 after purchasing an additional 7,919 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on META. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $720.00 to $790.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. TD Cowen upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Wolfe Research raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $670.00 to $730.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Susquehanna upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Arete Research raised shares of Meta Platforms to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. 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 issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $717.90.

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.