Insider Selling: Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) CEO Sells 12,975 Shares of Stock

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 12,975 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $706.72, for a total transaction of $9,169,692.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 172,046 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $121,588,349.12. The trade was a 7.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

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

• 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 transaction of $9,033,584.25.
• 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 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 value 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 value 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 value of $22,515,282.80.
• On Friday, January 17th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 35,921 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was 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 transaction 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 transaction of $22,133,083.36.
• On Friday, January 10th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 12,975 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $615.41, for a total value of $7,984,944.75.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:META traded up $0.68 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $704.87. 17,774,527 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 16,128,546. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.98 and a quick ratio of 2.98. The company has a 50 day moving average of $621.57 and a 200-day moving average of $571.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.78 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.20. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $414.50 and a 12 month high of $718.14.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued 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 return on equity of 38.17% and a net margin of 37.91%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.33 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 25.94 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.36%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on META shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $688.00 to $765.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $800.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $685.00 to $752.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Benchmark raised shares of Meta Platforms from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $820.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $710.83.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 57,001.5% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 9,517,111 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $5,447,975,000 after buying an additional 9,500,444 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 78,471.1% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,248,763 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $3,658,713,000 after purchasing an additional 6,240,810 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 61,769.3% in the 3rd quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC now owns 4,132,870 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,365,820,000 after acquiring an additional 4,126,190 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 87,269.8% in the fourth quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 1,067,659 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $625,125,000 after purchasing an additional 1,066,437 shares during the period. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 4,658.5% during the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 909,548 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $520,662,000 after acquiring an additional 890,434 shares during the last quarter. 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.