Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) CEO Mark Zuckerberg Sells 7,975 Shares

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 7,975 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $516.36, for a total value of $4,117,971.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 531,884 shares of the company's stock, valued at $274,643,622.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

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

• On Monday, August 26th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $520.48, for a total transaction of $8,693,056.96.
• On Friday, August 23rd, Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $531.46, for a total value of $8,876,444.92.
• On Monday, August 19th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $526.94, for a total value of $8,800,951.88.
• On Wednesday, August 21st, Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $533.24, for a total transaction of $8,906,174.48.
• On Friday, August 16th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $529.09, for a total value of $8,836,861.18.
• On Monday, August 12th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $514.89, for a total transaction of $8,599,692.78.
• On Wednesday, August 14th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $528.51, for a total transaction of $8,827,174.02.
• On Friday, August 9th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $513.09, for a total value of $8,569,629.18.
• On Wednesday, August 7th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 6,534 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.04, for a total transaction of $3,299,931.36.
• On Friday, August 2nd, Mark Zuckerberg sold 150 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.49, for a total transaction of $75,073.50.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

META stock traded down $2.32 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $516.78. 9,075,556 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 16,078,506. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $503.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $492.02. The company has a quick ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $279.40 and a twelve month high of $544.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.31 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.21.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.70 by $0.46. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 34.34% and a return on equity of 34.16%. The company had revenue of $39.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $38.26 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.23 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.39%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 11.49%.

Institutional Trading of Meta Platforms

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Clear Investment Research LLC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 411.1% during 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 during the period. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 527.3% in the first quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the second quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 122.2% during the second quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 80 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on META. Citigroup raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $580.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $480.00 to $610.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and set a $525.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $620.00 price objective on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, thirty-three have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $574.41.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.