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

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $533.24, for a total value of $8,906,174.48. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 28,838 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,377,575.12. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

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

• 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 transaction of $8,800,951.88.
• On Friday, August 16th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $529.09, for a total transaction of $8,836,861.18.
• On Monday, August 12th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were 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 shares were sold at an average price of $528.51, for a total value of $8,827,174.02.
• On Friday, August 9th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were 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 stock was 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 shares were sold at an average price of $500.49, for a total transaction of $75,073.50.
• On Tuesday, July 16th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 1,712 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $502.27, for a total value of $859,886.24.
• On Friday, July 12th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 14,874 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $503.38, for a total transaction of $7,487,274.12.
• On Monday, July 8th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $530.75, for a total transaction of $8,864,586.50.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of META stock traded up $8.43 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $535.16. 13,410,650 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 16,255,042. The company has a market capitalization of $1.36 trillion, a PE ratio of 30.74, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.21. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $276.03 and a 52 week high of $542.81. The business has a 50 day moving average of $501.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $490.13. The company has a current ratio of 2.83, a quick ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.70 by $0.46. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 34.16% and a net margin of 34.34%. The firm had revenue of $39.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.23 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.37%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 11.49%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

META has been the topic of several research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $522.00 to $555.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $562.00 to $643.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $620.00 target price on the stock. Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $500.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Roth Mkm upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $510.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, thirty-three have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $574.41.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of META. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Clear Investment Research LLC lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 411.1% during the 4th quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 92 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 527.3% during the 1st quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 122.2% in the second quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 80 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

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.