Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) CEO Mark Zuckerberg Sells 2,054 Shares of Stock

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 2,054 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Friday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $501.05, for a total value of $1,029,156.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 253,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $126,765,650. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

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

• On Friday, June 14th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $503.34, for a total value of $8,406,784.68.
• On Tuesday, June 11th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $503.18, for a total value 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 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 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.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

META stock opened at $498.91 on Tuesday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $274.38 and a 1 year high of $531.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 2.68 and a current ratio of 2.68. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $478.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $450.54. The firm has a market cap of $1.27 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.66, a PEG ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.21.

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

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.40%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is currently 11.49%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on META. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price target on Meta Platforms from $590.00 to $565.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 25th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $550.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their target price on Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $575.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Loop Capital reduced their target price on Meta Platforms from $555.00 to $550.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Meta Platforms from $535.00 to $480.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, thirty-seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Meta Platforms presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $510.05.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of META. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC lifted 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 purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Stone House Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 625.0% during the 3rd 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 during the period. Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 95.6% during the 1st 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 during the period. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter worth $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.