Insider Selling: Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) CEO Sells $50,400.00 in Stock

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 84 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.00, for a total transaction of $50,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 518,424 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $311,054,400. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

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

• On Monday, October 7th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 492 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.75, for a total transaction of $295,569.00.
• On Friday, August 30th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 4,909 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $519.17, for a total transaction of $2,548,605.53.
• On Monday, August 26th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $520.48, for a total transaction of $8,693,056.96.
• On Wednesday, August 28th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 7,975 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $516.36, for a total transaction of $4,117,971.00.
• On Friday, August 23rd, Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $531.46, for a total transaction of $8,876,444.92.
• On Monday, August 19th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $526.94, for a total transaction of $8,800,951.88.
• On Wednesday, August 21st, Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $533.24, for a total transaction of $8,906,174.48.
• On Friday, August 16th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $529.09, for a total transaction of $8,836,861.18.
• On Monday, August 12th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $514.89, for a total transaction of $8,599,692.78.
• On Wednesday, August 14th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $528.51, for a total transaction of $8,827,174.02.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of Meta Platforms stock opened at $576.47 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 2.83 and a current ratio of 2.83. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $279.40 and a 52-week high of $602.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.46 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.22. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $546.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $508.68.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.70 by $0.46. The business had revenue of $39.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.26 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 34.34% and a return on equity of 34.16%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.23 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.37 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 11.49%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $570.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Pivotal Research started coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $780.00 target price on the stock. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $620.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Roth Mkm raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $620.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $617.37.

Institutional Trading of Meta Platforms

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 527.3% in 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. POM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the second quarter valued at $38,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 122.2% during the second quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 80 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the period. Halpern Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the third quarter valued at $46,000. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the third quarter valued at $49,000. 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.