Javier Olivan Sells 837 Shares of Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Stock

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) COO Javier Olivan sold 837 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.85, for a total value of $508,770.45. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 6,290 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,823,376.50. The trade was a 11.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at 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, July 27th, Javier Olivan sold 629 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $607.85, for a total value of $382,337.65.
• On Monday, July 20th, Javier Olivan sold 629 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $645.85, for a total value of $406,239.65.
• On Monday, July 20th, Javier Olivan sold 837 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $645.85, for a total value of $540,576.45.
• On Monday, July 6th, Javier Olivan sold 1,887 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.62, for a total value of $1,133,369.94.
• On Monday, July 6th, Javier Olivan sold 3,348 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.97, for a total transaction of $2,012,047.56.
• On Monday, June 15th, 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, June 15th, Javier Olivan sold 140 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.00, for a total transaction of $84,000.00.
• On Monday, June 1st, Javier Olivan sold 629 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $629.29, for a total transaction of $395,823.41.
• On Monday, June 1st, Javier Olivan sold 837 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $629.29, for a total transaction of $526,715.73.
• On Tuesday, May 26th, Javier Olivan sold 629 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $608.98, for a total transaction of $383,048.42.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of Meta Platforms stock traded down $7.80 on Wednesday, hitting $585.61. 21,386,091 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 16,706,162. The company has a current ratio of 2.35, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The company has a market cap of $1.48 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.29, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.25. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $603.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $624.67. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $520.26 and a 52 week high of $796.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.13 by ($0.95). The firm had revenue of $60.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $60.22 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 36.93% and a net margin of 32.84%. Equities research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.51 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th were given a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 7.63%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on META. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $865.00 to $766.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 13th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Meta Platforms from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $850.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $835.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have issued a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $835.64.

Key Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Second-quarter revenue rose 28% year over year to $60.8 billion, exceeding the $60.2 billion consensus estimate. The result suggests that advertising demand, user engagement and AI-enhanced ad targeting remain healthy. Meta stock sinks as Q2 earnings disappoint on multiple fronts
• Positive Sentiment: Reality Labs posted a loss of more than $4.6 billion, but the deficit was narrower than analysts expected, providing a modest offset to the broader earnings concerns. Meta’s Reality Labs lost over $4.6 billion in second quarter
• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s partnership with BlackRock to develop a roughly $14 billion, one-gigawatt Texas data-center campus could help share the financing burden and secure computing capacity for future AI services. Meta, BlackRock partner on $14 billion El Paso data center
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s support for open AI development and opposition to banning Chinese AI models may encourage broader innovation, but it also creates potential regulatory and geopolitical uncertainty. Meta’s Zuckerberg says US should not block Chinese AI models
• Negative Sentiment: Adjusted earnings per share came in at $6.18, well below estimates near $7.13-$7.22 and down about 13% year over year. Higher operating expenses, including legal charges, caused costs to rise faster than revenue. Meta profit misses estimates on higher costs
• Negative Sentiment: Meta now expects to spend approximately $130 billion to $145 billion on AI and related infrastructure this year. The larger investment plan is intensifying concerns about free-cash-flow pressure and whether AI monetization will justify the spending. Meta Stock Tanks In Jittery Market On Massive AI Investment, Mixed Q2
• Negative Sentiment: Third-quarter revenue guidance of $61 billion to $64 billion surrounds consensus of $63.2 billion, signaling a potentially softer near-term growth outlook while spending remains elevated.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Paragon Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 8.6% during the 2nd quarter. Paragon Advisors LLC now owns 10,770 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $6,067,000 after acquiring an additional 853 shares in the last quarter. Obermeyer Wealth Partners boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.8% in the second quarter. Obermeyer Wealth Partners now owns 79,955 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $45,038,000 after acquiring an additional 1,437 shares in the last quarter. Navigation Group LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.6% in the second quarter. Navigation Group LLC now owns 11,690 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $6,585,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Darrow Company Inc. purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the second quarter worth $422,000. Finally, Wealth Forward LLC grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 3.6% in the second quarter. Wealth Forward LLC now owns 514 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $290,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Company Profile

Meta Platforms, Inc (NASDAQ: META), formerly Facebook, Inc, is a global technology company best known for building social networking services and immersive computing platforms. Founded in 2004 and headquartered in Menlo Park, California, the company operates a family of consumer-facing products and services that connect users, creators and businesses. In October 2021 the company rebranded as Meta to reflect an expanded strategic focus on augmented and virtual reality technologies alongside its social media businesses.

Meta’s core consumer products include Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger, which enable social networking, messaging, content sharing and community building across mobile and desktop devices.