Insider Selling: Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) CEO Sells 15,847 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta Platforms, recently sold 15,847 shares at an average price of $787.06, totaling over $12 million in value, reflecting a series of stock sales in August.
• Meta Platforms stock is currently trading at $780.08, down 1.3% from previous sessions, with a market cap of approximately $1.96 trillion.
• The company recently reported a strong quarterly earnings performance, with $7.14 earnings per share exceeding estimates and revenue of $47.52 billion, marking a 21.6% year-over-year increase.

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 15,847 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $787.06, for a total value of $12,472,539.82. 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 Friday, August 8th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 15,847 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $765.11, for a total value of $12,124,698.17.
• On Monday, August 4th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 15,847 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $769.38, for a total value of $12,192,364.86.
• On Wednesday, August 6th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 15,847 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $768.67, for a total value of $12,181,113.49.
• On Friday, August 1st, Mark Zuckerberg sold 15,847 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $753.43, for a total value of $11,939,605.21.
• On Wednesday, July 2nd, Mark Zuckerberg sold 2,361 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $716.48, for a total value of $1,691,609.28.
• On Tuesday, July 1st, Mark Zuckerberg sold 13,793 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $723.89, for a total value of $9,984,614.77.
• On Friday, June 27th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 13,793 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $730.47, for a total value of $10,075,372.71.
• On Wednesday, June 25th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 13,793 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $710.24, for a total value of $9,796,340.32.
• On Friday, June 20th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 500 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $700.38, for a total value of $350,190.00.
• On Monday, June 16th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 13,793 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $702.06, for a total value of $9,683,513.58.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 1.3%

Meta Platforms stock traded down $9.92 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $780.08. The stock had a trading volume of 8,791,198 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,328,413. The company has a market cap of $1.96 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.24, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.97 and a quick ratio of 1.97. The business's 50 day moving average price is $718.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $653.09. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $479.80 and a 52 week high of $795.46.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The social networking company reported $7.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.75 by $1.39. The business had revenue of $47.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $44.55 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 39.33% and a net margin of 39.99%. The company's revenue was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.16 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were given a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is currently 7.60%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $795.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $685.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $780.00 to $860.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Susquehanna dropped their price target on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $700.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-nine have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $822.41.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of META. Bare Financial Services Inc acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Inlight Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 237.5% during the 2nd quarter. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC now owns 54 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Finally, MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. 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.

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