Insider Selling: Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) COO Sells $643,535.42 in Stock

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) COO Javier Olivan sold 946 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $680.27, for a total value of $643,535.42. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 9,770 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,646,237.90. This trade represents a 8.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

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

• On Monday, September 21st, Javier Olivan sold 629 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $680.27, for a total value of $427,889.83.
• On Monday, September 14th, Javier Olivan sold 629 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $657.73, for a total value of $413,712.17.
• On Monday, September 14th, Javier Olivan sold 946 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $657.73, for a total value of $622,212.58.
• On Tuesday, September 8th, Javier Olivan sold 2,516 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $616.44, for a total value of $1,550,963.04.
• On Tuesday, September 8th, Javier Olivan sold 2,838 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $616.71, for a total value of $1,750,222.98.
• On Monday, August 10th, Javier Olivan sold 434 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $602.70, for a total value of $261,571.80.
• On Monday, August 10th, Javier Olivan sold 1,258 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.00, for a total transaction of $754,800.00.
• On Monday, July 27th, Javier Olivan sold 629 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.85, for a total transaction of $382,337.65.
• On Monday, July 27th, Javier Olivan sold 837 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.85, for a total transaction of $508,770.45.
• On Monday, July 20th, Javier Olivan sold 629 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $645.85, for a total transaction of $406,239.65.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of META stock traded up $7.51 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $744.10. 30,318,016 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 17,355,260. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $520.26 and a fifty-two week high of $763.90. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $609.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $610.57. The company has a market cap of $1.90 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 2.23 and a quick ratio of 2.23.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.19 by ($1.01). Meta Platforms had a net margin of 29.83% and a return on equity of 33.18%. The company had revenue of $60.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $60.22 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $7.14 earnings per share. Meta Platforms’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 27.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 21st will be given a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 21st. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is presently 7.91%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Meta Platforms from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $640.00 to $820.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. Mizuho set a $750.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $780.00 to $900.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Meta Platforms from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating and set a $800.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Wednesday, September 16th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $796.95.

Trending Headlines about Meta Platforms

Here are the key news stories impacting Meta Platforms this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Muse quickly reached the top of Apple’s U.S. free-app charts, with reported downloads approaching 900,000 in its first week. Positive reviews and demonstrations of the agent handling travel, reservations, insurance and financial tasks are strengthening the view that Meta has developed a potential mass-market product. Meta’s standoff with Amazon over Muse could be a sign of things to come
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts raised their outlooks as Muse demonstrated a possible “third S-curve” for AI growth. KeyCorp lifted its price target to $900, Cantor Fitzgerald to $860, and Jefferies to $875, while maintaining bullish ratings. The opportunity includes subscriptions, advertising, transaction fees and lead generation. Meta Price Targets Hiked to $900 as Analyst Cite AI Momentum Revenue Growth Paths
• Positive Sentiment: Shopify and PayPal are integrating with Muse for agentic checkout, while Instacart has become another partner. These relationships support the thesis that Meta could become an intermediary for online purchases and monetize completed transactions rather than only user attention. Shopify Brings Shop Pay Checkout Solution to Meta’s Muse AI Agent
• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s broad distribution across Facebook, Instagram and its other platforms, combined with internally developed AI models and infrastructure, is viewed as a competitive advantage. Investors are also watching Meta Connect for new AI and smart-glasses announcements. Muse AI Makes Meta Connect a Must Watch for Investors
• Neutral Sentiment: Amazon blocked Muse from accessing its shopping site, highlighting both the strategic importance of AI agents and the possibility of platform restrictions. The standoff could limit Muse’s usefulness but also signals that competitors view Meta’s transaction ambitions as a serious threat. Meta’s New AI Agent Is an Instant Hit—and the Backlash Has Already Begun
• Negative Sentiment: The rapid rally has increased near-term pullback and valuation risk. Investors remain concerned about Meta’s heavy AI capital spending, dependence on advertising and whether Muse can convert popularity into durable profits. Meta Stock Forecast: Bullish Trend Strong Despite Pullback Risk
• Negative Sentiment: Privacy and security concerns are mounting, while reports that Meta is testing human contractors to handle some Muse calls raise questions about scalability and the product’s current level of automation. Meta testing a human concierge for Muse

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. Auto Owners Insurance Co increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 76,587.7% in the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 105,292,277 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $69,502,379,000 after acquiring an additional 105,154,977 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 92,033,963 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $51,841,811,000 after acquiring an additional 3,510,123 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 52,806,712 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $34,734,628,000 after acquiring an additional 878,396 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $22,152,075,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 14.6% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 21,038,035 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $12,036,491,000 after purchasing an additional 2,673,494 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Company Profile

Meta Platforms, Inc develops technologies that help people connect, communicate and build communities online. The company’s principal products include Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp and Threads, which enable social networking, messaging, content sharing and digital communication.

Meta generates most of its business through advertising displayed across its family of apps. It also develops artificial intelligence technologies, business messaging tools and hardware and software through its Reality Labs division, including Quest virtual- and mixed-reality devices and related experiences.

The company was founded as Facebook in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg and was renamed Meta Platforms in 2021 to reflect its broader focus on building the metaverse.