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 Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $609.00, for a total value of $370,272.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 8,054 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,904,886. This represents a 7.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

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

• 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 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 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 stock was 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 transaction of $255,234.00.
• On Monday, January 13th, Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $606.77, for a total transaction 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 transaction of $252,797.30.
• On Monday, December 30th, Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $589.16, for a total value of $243,323.08.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 2.3 %

Shares of Meta Platforms stock traded up $13.85 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $619.56. 15,717,290 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,655,752. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.57 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.23. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $414.50 and a twelve month high of $740.91. The company has a current ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $658.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $602.08.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced 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 net margin of 37.91% and a return on equity of 38.17%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.33 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.34%. This is an increase from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is currently 8.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $660.00 to $725.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $630.00 to $705.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Argus set a $775.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $719.26.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. JDM Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. Avondale Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at about $43,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Company Profile

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.