Javier Olivan Sells 608 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Stock

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) COO Javier Olivan sold 608 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.50, for a total value of $369,360.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 7,446 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,523,445. This trade represents a 7.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

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

• 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 shares were sold at an average price of $673.96, for a total value of $409,767.68.
• On Monday, February 24th, Javier Olivan sold 608 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $686.28, for a total value of $417,258.24.
• On Tuesday, February 18th, Javier Olivan sold 608 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $736.07, for a total value of $447,530.56.
• On Saturday, February 15th, Javier Olivan sold 4,706 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were 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 value of $279,188.00.
• On Monday, January 27th, Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $627.59, for a total value of $259,194.67.
• On Tuesday, January 21st, Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $618.00, for a total value of $255,234.00.
• On Monday, January 13th, Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $606.77, for a total value of $250,596.01.
• On Monday, January 6th, Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $612.10, for a total value of $252,797.30.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

NASDAQ META traded up $1.70 on Wednesday, hitting $584.06. 20,489,215 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,669,831. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $656.80 and a two-hundred day moving average of $604.84. The company has a market cap of $1.48 trillion, a P/E ratio of 24.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a current ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $414.50 and a 1-year high of $740.91.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.75 by $1.27. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.17% and a net margin of 37.91%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $5.33 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. This is an increase from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.36%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.78%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on META shares. Wolfe Research raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $670.00 to $730.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $715.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Barclays raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $630.00 to $705.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $680.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $718.31.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JDM Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,000. Avondale Wealth Management bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth approximately $43,000. 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.