Insider Selling: Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) COO Sells 608 Shares of Stock

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) COO Javier Olivan sold 608 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $556.45, for a total transaction of $338,321.60. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 5,014 shares in the company, valued at $2,790,040.30. This trade represents a 10.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Javier Olivan also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, April 7th, Javier Olivan sold 608 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $488.18, for a total value of $296,813.44.
• On Monday, March 31st, Javier Olivan sold 608 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $563.03, for a total transaction of $342,322.24.
• On Monday, March 24th, Javier Olivan sold 608 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $614.97, for a total transaction of $373,901.76.
• On Monday, March 17th, Javier Olivan sold 608 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $607.50, for a total value of $369,360.00.
• On Monday, March 10th, Javier Olivan sold 608 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $609.00, for a total value of $370,272.00.
• On Monday, March 3rd, Javier Olivan sold 608 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $673.96, for a total transaction of $409,767.68.
• On Monday, February 24th, Javier Olivan sold 608 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $686.28, for a total transaction of $417,258.24.
• On Tuesday, February 18th, Javier Olivan sold 608 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $736.07, for a total transaction of $447,530.56.
• On Saturday, February 15th, Javier Olivan sold 4,706 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $736.67, for a total value of $3,466,769.02.
• On Monday, February 3rd, Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $676.00, for a total transaction of $279,188.00.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 3.7 %

META stock traded down $19.21 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $502.31. The company had a trading volume of 18,698,758 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,817,474. The company has a market capitalization of $1.27 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.00, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.98 and a quick ratio of 2.98. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $414.50 and a 52 week high of $740.91. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $616.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $607.81.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.75 by $1.27. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 37.91% and a return on equity of 38.17%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $5.33 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is 8.78%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on META. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $600.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $680.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $811.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Truist Financial upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $770.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Tigress Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $686.83.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Valley Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Valley Financial Group Inc. now owns 588 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $344,000 after buying an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Lantern Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Lantern Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,976 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,743,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC now owns 1,640 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $960,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Meredith Wealth Planning boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Meredith Wealth Planning now owns 1,873 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,097,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Maiden Cove Capital LLC increased its position in Meta Platforms by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Maiden Cove Capital LLC now owns 481 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $282,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. 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.