Benzinga - by Ananya Gairola, Benzinga Staff Writer.
Mark Zuckerberg continues to offload Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) stock at an astonishing rate following the social media giant’s eye-popping rally on stellar fourth-quarter financial results.
What Happened: In the latest regulatory filing, Meta said Zuckerberg intends to sell 97,093 class A common shares, valued at over $45 million. The company’s total outstanding shares currently stand at 22,00,048,907.
This month alone, the Meta CEO has parted with 408,453 shares, translating to over $188 million, according to the filing.
Selling Spree: Zuckerberg started selling shares in November 2023 after a nearly two-year break, in tandem with the company’s positive performance. He has offloaded a total of 1,992,169 shares valued at around $744 million since then. Bloomberg reported in January that his sales amounted to a staggering $428 million in the last two months of 2023.
Zuckerberg has witnessed the biggest wealth gains in 2024, courtesy of Meta’s stellar stock surge. Following better-than-expected fourth-quarter results and positive first-quarter guidance, the company announced its inaugural quarterly dividend and expanded its share repurchase program. Zuckerberg could potentially rake in $700 million annually from dividends on his Meta shares, with a quarterly dividend of 50 cents.
Meta’s stock has soared 32.78% year-to-date and a remarkable 164.16% over the past year.
Why It Matters: Meta’s turnaround stems from its focus on efficiency, an AI pivot, and a rebound in ad spending. Zuckerberg designated 2023 as the “Year of Efficiency,” with a focus on strengthening organizational agility. By December 2023, Meta emerged as the second-best-performing S&P 500 stock with a 190% year-to-date gain.
Meta’s stock rally, which flourished during the early COVID-19 period, hit a snag in September 2021, marking a year-long downward trend until early November 2022. This decline was attributed to reduced ad spending amid economic challenges.
To counter these challenges, Meta unveiled strategic initiatives, including workforce reduction, infrastructure cost reviews, and a hiring freeze until the first quarter of 2023. These restructuring efforts received a positive market response, lifting Meta’s stock from its six-year low.
Zuckerberg, currently the world’s fourth-richest person according to the Bloomberg Billionaire Index, boasts a net worth of $169 billion, primarily from his approximately 13% ownership of Meta.
In 2023, the combined wealth of the top 10 richest individuals surged by $465.4 billion, with Zuckerberg among the notable beneficiaries.
META Price Action: Meta shares closed marginally higher at $470 on Thursday, according to Benzinga Pro.
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