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 the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $503.34, for a total value of $8,406,784.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 275,297 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $138,567,991.98. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

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

• On Tuesday, June 11th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $503.18, for a total transaction of $8,404,112.36.
• 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 transaction 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 transaction 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 stock was 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 stock was sold at an average price of $506.92, for a total transaction of $39,241,691.04.
• 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 transaction of $15,756,577.76.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Meta Platforms stock traded up $2.47 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $506.63. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 11,245,824 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,643,670. The stock has a market cap of $1.29 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a current ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $274.38 and a 52 week high of $531.49. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $480.39 and a 200-day moving average price of $442.26.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.32 by $0.39. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.06% and a return on equity of 32.03%. The business had revenue of $36.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.28 billion. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.16 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sargent Investment Group LLC increased its position in Meta Platforms by 71.0% during the 3rd quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC now owns 1,818 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $546,000 after purchasing an additional 755 shares during the period. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 8.0% in the third quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,900 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,171,000 after buying an additional 290 shares during the period. Alterna Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 3.9% during the third quarter. Alterna Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,321 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $397,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Pearl River Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,120,000. Finally, Aigen Investment Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,685,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $585.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $609.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $590.00 to $565.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $520.00 to $562.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Two equities research 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 MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $510.41.

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.