Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) CEO Mark Zuckerberg Sells 7,802 Shares

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 7,802 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $701.96, for a total value of $5,476,691.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 110,477 shares of the company's stock, valued at $77,550,434.92. This trade represents a 6.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

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

• On Monday, June 9th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 7,466 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $701.25, for a total value of $5,235,532.50.
• On Tuesday, June 10th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 13,793 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $701.13, for a total value of $9,670,686.09.
• On Friday, June 6th, Mark Zuckerberg sold 1,462 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $701.13, for a total value of $1,025,052.06.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 0.1%

Meta Platforms stock traded down $0.78 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $693.36. The stock had a trading volume of 7,303,916 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,493,692. The company has a quick ratio of 2.98, a current ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $442.65 and a 52-week high of $740.91. The firm has a market cap of $1.74 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a fifty day moving average of $597.08 and a 200 day moving average of $617.62.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.33 by $1.10. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 37.91% and a return on equity of 38.17%. The firm had revenue of $42.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $41.45 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.71 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is presently 8.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Benchmark reduced their price objective on Meta Platforms from $820.00 to $640.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $740.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Meta Platforms from $752.00 to $664.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, DA Davidson cut their price target on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $650.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $704.26.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 191,198,005 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $111,948,344,000 after buying an additional 1,502,553 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 49,181,127 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $28,719,970,000 after buying an additional 1,020,519 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 42,317,434 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $24,777,282,000 after buying an additional 1,049,121 shares during the period. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 40,317,105 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $23,606,338,000 after buying an additional 1,141,355 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $19,949,512,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.