Insider Selling: Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) COO Sells 926 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Meta COO Javier Olivan sold 926 shares on April 20 at an average price of $680.09 (≈$629,763), executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, leaving him with 9,631 shares — part of a series of insider sales totaling several million dollars.
• Company and market context: META traded up 0.9% to $674.72, has a $1.71 trillion market cap and recent Q1 results that beat estimates; analysts maintain a "Moderate Buy" consensus with an average target near $837, and the company pays a $0.525 quarterly dividend (≈0.3% yield).

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) COO Javier Olivan sold 926 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $680.09, for a total value of $629,763.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 9,631 shares in the company, valued at $6,549,946.79. This represents a 8.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

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

• 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 13th, Javier Olivan sold 1,887 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $629.55, for a total transaction of $1,187,960.85.
• On Monday, April 13th, Javier Olivan sold 2,778 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $629.45, for a total transaction of $1,748,612.10.
• On Monday, March 23rd, Javier Olivan sold 629 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $605.38, for a total transaction of $380,784.02.
• On Monday, March 23rd, Javier Olivan sold 926 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $605.38, for a total transaction of $560,581.88.
• On Monday, March 16th, Javier Olivan sold 629 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $632.02, for a total value of $397,540.58.
• On Monday, March 16th, Javier Olivan sold 926 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $632.02, for a total value of $585,250.52.
• On Monday, March 9th, Javier Olivan sold 629 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $634.94, for a total value of $399,377.26.
• On Monday, March 9th, Javier Olivan sold 926 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $634.94, for a total value of $587,954.44.
• On Monday, March 2nd, Javier Olivan sold 629 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $637.21, for a total value of $400,805.09.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NASDAQ META traded up $5.88 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $674.72. 9,192,525 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 15,676,834. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 2.60 and a current ratio of 2.60. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $516.52 and a one year high of $796.25. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $627.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $650.10. The company has a market cap of $1.71 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.31.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The social networking company reported $8.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $8.16 by $0.72. The company had revenue of $59.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $58.33 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.61% and a net margin of 30.08%.Meta Platforms's quarterly revenue was up 23.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $8.02 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.83 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th were issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 16th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.94%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

META has been the topic of several recent research reports. Arete Research reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $775.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 30th. TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating and issued a $820.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, April 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $825.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Meta Platforms from $820.00 to $805.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $837.09.

Key Headlines Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: UBS raised its price target on META (to $908) and other firms reaffirmed bullish views, signaling investor confidence in GenAI-driven ad upside and supporting near-term momentum. UBS Hikes Meta Platforms’ Target
• Positive Sentiment: Meta extended and deepened AI partnerships (including Broadcom) and is locking in energy/storage deals for data centers, reducing operating risk for large-scale AI builds. Broadcom & Meta Extend AI Pact Into 2029
• Positive Sentiment: Meta is ramping AI-optimized data-center capex (new >$1B Tulsa site, larger 2026 spend plans) and signed a 1 GW / 100 GWh energy-storage reservation—these investments support long-term AI monetization and capacity for ad + cloud workloads. META Rides on AI-Optimized Data Centers
• Positive Sentiment: Insider/manager buying: Manitou Investment Management added ~11.5k shares, a small but constructive signal of confidence from an institutional investor. Manitou Boosts Meta Stake
• Neutral Sentiment: Q1 preview and analyst models show consensus expectations for revenue growth and a likely earnings beat; Q1 results and Q2 guidance remain the major near-term catalysts. Meta Earnings Expected to Grow (Zacks)
• Neutral Sentiment: Regional social‑commerce market reports for South Korea and Japan point to structural growth opportunities for Meta’s commerce and ad products in APAC—longer-term upside but not immediate revenue drivers. South Korea Social Commerce Market Report Japan Social Commerce Market Report
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Meta will record employees’ keystrokes, mouse movements and clicks to train AI models raise privacy, employee‑morale and potential regulatory/PR risk; investors may price in reputational or compliance costs. Meta Will Track Employees' Keystrokes (CNET)
• Negative Sentiment: A consumer‑watchdog class action claims Meta profited from scam ads and misled users—new legal exposure that could increase compliance costs or settlements ahead; this is an ongoing headline risk. Consumer Watchdog Suit Alleges Meta Profited on Ads for Scams

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of META. Westchester Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. RHL Group LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Niles Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth about $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

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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