Insider Selling: Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) CEO Sells 35,921 Shares of Stock

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 35,921 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $644.76, for a total transaction of $23,160,423.96. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

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

• 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.
• On Monday, January 13th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 35,921 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $604.69, for a total value of $21,721,069.49.
• On Wednesday, January 15th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 35,921 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $616.16, for a total value of $22,133,083.36.
• On Friday, January 10th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 12,975 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $615.41, for a total value of $7,984,944.75.
• On Monday, January 6th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 12,975 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $618.42, for a total transaction of $8,023,999.50.
• On Wednesday, January 8th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 35,921 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $611.10, for a total transaction of $21,951,323.10.
• On Friday, January 3rd, Mark Zuckerberg sold 35,921 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $603.98, for a total transaction of $21,695,565.58.
• On Friday, December 27th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 2,311 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.21, for a total value of $1,387,085.31.
• On Tuesday, December 24th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 35,921 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $604.46, for a total value of $21,712,807.66.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 1.9 %

Meta Platforms stock opened at $659.88 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 2.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The firm has a market cap of $1.67 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.19. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $604.04 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $561.55. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $387.10 and a 12 month high of $663.87.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.19 by $0.84. The company had revenue of $40.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $40.21 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 35.55% and a return on equity of 35.60%. Analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.30%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.42%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on META shares. Mizuho increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their price target on Meta Platforms from $730.00 to $720.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. KeyCorp raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $655.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $654.20.

Institutional Trading of Meta Platforms

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Consolidated Portfolio Review Corp lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Consolidated Portfolio Review Corp now owns 2,469 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,446,000 after buying an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Hedeker Wealth LLC raised its position in Meta Platforms by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Hedeker Wealth LLC now owns 10,892 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $6,377,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. Oakworth Capital Inc. lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 40.4% during the fourth quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 1,056 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $618,000 after purchasing an additional 304 shares in the last quarter. McHugh Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at about $583,000. Finally, Buck Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at about $213,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.