Insider Selling: Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) COO Sells 837 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Meta COO Javier Olivan sold 837 shares on May 18 at an average price of $609.35, for proceeds of about $510,026. The sale was made under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan to cover tax withholding tied to vested equity awards.
• The transaction reduced Olivan’s direct stake by 5.4%, leaving him with 14,660 shares worth about $8.93 million. The article also notes he has made several other recent scheduled sales of Meta stock.
• Meta shares fell 1.4% to $602.61, even as the company reported strong recent earnings and revenue growth. The stock remains well below its 52-week high, while analysts maintain a Moderate Buy consensus with an average target price of $840.31.

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) COO Javier Olivan sold 837 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $609.35, for a total value of $510,025.95. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 14,660 shares in the company, valued at $8,933,071. This trade represents a 5.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

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

• On Monday, May 18th, Javier Olivan sold 629 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $609.35, for a total transaction of $383,281.15.
• On Monday, May 11th, Javier Olivan sold 629 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $604.57, for a total transaction of $380,274.53.
• On Monday, May 11th, Javier Olivan sold 926 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $604.57, for a total value of $559,831.82.
• On Monday, May 4th, Javier Olivan sold 629 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $607.74, for a total value of $382,268.46.
• On Monday, May 4th, Javier Olivan sold 926 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.74, for a total value of $562,767.24.
• On Monday, April 27th, Javier Olivan sold 926 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $670.84, for a total value of $621,197.84.
• On Monday, April 27th, Javier Olivan sold 629 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $670.84, for a total value of $421,958.36.
• On Monday, April 20th, Javier Olivan sold 629 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $680.09, for a total value of $427,776.61.
• On Monday, April 20th, Javier Olivan sold 926 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $680.09, for a total value of $629,763.34.
• On Monday, April 13th, Javier Olivan sold 1,887 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $629.55, for a total value of $1,187,960.85.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 1.4%

META traded down $8.60 on Tuesday, reaching $602.61. 11,716,804 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 15,909,861. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $520.26 and a twelve month high of $796.25. The company's 50 day moving average is $620.35 and its 200-day moving average is $637.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.35. The company has a market cap of $1.52 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.91, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $6.67 by $3.77. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.84% and a return on equity of 36.93%. The firm had revenue of $56.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $55.56 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $6.43 earnings per share. Meta Platforms's revenue was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 454 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $334,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. First National Bank Sioux Falls lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. First National Bank Sioux Falls now owns 2,001 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $1,321,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. now owns 984 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $649,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.3% in the second quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. now owns 1,075 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $794,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Macroview Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 3.3% in the third quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC now owns 465 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $341,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

META has been the subject of several recent research reports. Raymond James Financial lowered their price target on Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $800.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $725.00 target price (down from $825.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $910.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Evercore raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $900.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $800.00 price target (down from $880.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $840.31.

Meta Platforms News Roundup

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

• Negative Sentiment: Meta began laying off about 8,000 employees, or roughly 10% of its workforce, as part of a broader AI-first transformation. The move highlights rising restructuring costs and suggests more cuts could follow later this year. Meta Begins Laying Off 8,000 Employees Amid A.I. Transformation
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Meta is cutting jobs while ramping up AI investment have kept attention on margin pressure and the scale of the company’s AI spending bill, which some investors view as a near-term drag on earnings. Meta Moves 7,000 Workers Into AI Roles Ahead of Job Cuts
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta offered rival AI chatbot makers limited free access to WhatsApp in Europe before charging once usage limits are reached. The move could support platform engagement and developer adoption, but the financial impact is still unclear. Exclusive: Meta offers AI rival chatbots limited free WhatsApp access, sources say
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta also drew attention for new AI-related product and safety initiatives, including an incognito chat feature for WhatsApp’s AI assistant and new parental supervision tools, but these are not likely to move the stock in the near term. Meta Platforms (META) Launching Incognito Chat for WhatsApp AI Assistant

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.

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