Insider Selling: Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) COO Sells 608 Shares of Stock

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) COO Javier Olivan sold 608 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $555.54, for a total value of $337,768.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 3,798 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,109,940.92. This represents a 13.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

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

• On Monday, April 21st, Javier Olivan sold 406 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $491.69, for a total value of $199,626.14.
• On Monday, April 14th, Javier Olivan sold 608 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $556.45, for a total value of $338,321.60.
• On Monday, April 7th, Javier Olivan sold 608 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $488.18, for a total transaction of $296,813.44.
• On Monday, March 31st, Javier Olivan sold 608 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $563.03, for a total value of $342,322.24.
• On Monday, March 24th, Javier Olivan sold 608 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $614.97, for a total value of $373,901.76.
• On Monday, March 17th, Javier Olivan sold 608 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.50, for a total transaction of $369,360.00.
• On Monday, March 10th, Javier Olivan sold 608 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was 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 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 value of $447,530.56.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:META traded up $24.81 during trading on Friday, hitting $597.02. 24,702,127 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 14,466,359. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $432.28 and a one year high of $740.91. The company has a quick ratio of 2.98, a current ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The business's fifty day moving average is $576.50 and its 200-day moving average is $603.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.51 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.96, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.28.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.33 by $1.10. The firm had revenue of $42.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $41.45 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 37.91% and a return on equity of 38.17%. Meta Platforms's revenue was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $4.71 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.35%. This is a boost from Meta Platforms's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is presently 8.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on META shares. TD Securities reduced their price objective on Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $700.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Susquehanna decreased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $700.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Needham & Company LLC reiterated an "underperform" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $627.00 to $525.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Wedbush upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $680.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $688.63.

Institutional Trading of Meta Platforms

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Howard Capital Management Group LLC increased its position in Meta Platforms by 17.9% during the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 1,652 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $946,000 after buying an additional 251 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 6.5% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,368,361 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $1,928,185,000 after purchasing an additional 204,412 shares during the period. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 9.1% in the third quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 3,219 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $1,842,000 after buying an additional 269 shares during the last quarter. Aldebaran Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 10.2% during the 3rd quarter. Aldebaran Financial Inc. now owns 2,853 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $1,633,000 after buying an additional 264 shares during the period. Finally, Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 9.5% in the 3rd quarter. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd now owns 17,048 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $9,704,000 after acquiring an additional 1,480 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company's stock.

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.