Mark Zuckerberg Sells 19,668 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Stock

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 19,668 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $721.69, for a total transaction of $14,194,198.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

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

• On Monday, February 10th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 35,795 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $715.82, for a total transaction of $25,622,776.90.
• On Friday, February 7th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 55,589 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $717.72, for a total transaction of $39,897,337.08.
• On Monday, February 3rd, Mark Zuckerberg sold 12,975 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $696.23, for a total transaction 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 stock was 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 stock was 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 stock was 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

Meta Platforms stock traded up $8.11 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $736.67. 16,880,644 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 16,161,075. The firm has a market cap of $1.87 trillion, a P/E ratio of 30.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a quick ratio of 2.98, a current ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $638.73 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $583.52. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $414.50 and a 1-year high of $740.91.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 period in the previous year, the company posted $5.33 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.29%. This is a boost from Meta Platforms's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is currently 8.36%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on META shares. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $736.00 to $786.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $583.00 to $627.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Roth Mkm boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $620.00 to $635.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $717.90.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. JDM Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,000. Avondale Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.