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

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $503.18, for a total value of $8,404,112.36. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 301,478 shares in the company, valued at approximately $151,697,700.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

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

• On Thursday, June 6th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 2,011 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.92, for a total value of $1,007,350.12.
• On Monday, April 1st, Mark Zuckerberg sold 31,465 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $491.49, for a total value of $15,464,732.85.
• On Monday, March 25th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 77,412 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $504.82, for a total value of $39,079,125.84.
• On Wednesday, March 27th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 31,493 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $492.14, for a total value of $15,498,965.02.
• On Friday, March 22nd, Mark Zuckerberg sold 77,412 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $506.92, for a total value of $39,241,691.04.
• On Monday, March 18th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 31,493 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $492.37, for a total value of $15,506,208.41.
• On Wednesday, March 20th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 31,493 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.32, for a total value of $15,756,577.76.
• On Friday, March 15th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 77,412 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $485.11, for a total value of $37,553,335.32.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 0.3 %

META traded up $1.37 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $508.84. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 11,965,207 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,801,721. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $480.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $439.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.68 and a quick ratio of 2.68. The stock has a market cap of $1.29 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.23, a PEG ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.21. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $268.32 and a twelve month high of $531.49.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.32 by $0.39. The company had revenue of $36.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.28 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 32.03% and a net margin of 32.06%. On average, analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.39%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 11.49%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on META. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Meta Platforms from $555.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Wolfe Research decreased their price target on Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Roth Mkm lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $500.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. They set an “underperform” rating and a $360.00 target price on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, thirty-seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $510.41.

Institutional Trading of Meta Platforms

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in META. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 527.3% during the first quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 625.0% in the third quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 87 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 95.6% in the first quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 88 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the first quarter worth about $44,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.