Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) COO Sells $421,958.36 in Stock

Key Points

• COO Javier Olivan sold 629 shares on April 27 under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan for about $421,958.36, leaving him with 2,372 shares — a ~20.96% reduction in his ownership.
• Meta beat Q1 estimates (EPS $8.88 vs. $8.16; revenue $59.89B) but raised multi‑year capex for AI and reported >$4B Reality Labs losses, which contributed to an after‑hours selloff and investor concern over near‑term margins.
• Despite the volatility, analysts remain largely positive with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target around $837, while several brokers have raised targets into the $850–$945 range.

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) COO Javier Olivan sold 629 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $670.84, for a total transaction of $421,958.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 2,372 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,591,232.48. This represents a 20.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 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 stock was sold at an average price of $680.09, for a total transaction 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 transaction of $629,763.34.
• 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 stock was 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 transaction 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 transaction of $585,250.52.
• On Monday, March 9th, Javier Olivan sold 629 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $634.94, for a total transaction of $399,377.26.
• On Monday, March 9th, Javier Olivan sold 926 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $634.94, for a total transaction of $587,954.44.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

META stock traded down $2.22 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $669.12. 17,763,411 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 15,522,336. The company has a quick ratio of 2.60, a current ratio of 2.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $520.26 and a 52 week high of $796.25. The business has a 50-day moving average of $629.76 and a two-hundred day moving average of $648.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.69 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.31.

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

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

More Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Strong Q1 financials — Meta reported revenue and EPS well above consensus, driven by ad strength and AI monetization, supporting the company's core profit trajectory. Quarterly Press Release
• Positive Sentiment: New creator payouts in USDC — Meta launched a pilot to pay eligible creators in Colombia and the Philippines using USDC on Solana and Polygon, potentially accelerating creator monetization and lower‑cost cross‑border payments. Meta Launches USDC Payouts
• Positive Sentiment: Energy partnerships to support AI data centers — Meta announced collaborations (Overview Energy, Noon Energy) targeting space‑based solar and long‑duration storage to secure continuous renewable power for future AI infrastructure, a long‑term operational/ESG positive that can lower future energy risk for data centers. Space Solar & Storage Partnerships
• Neutral Sentiment: Macro and sector context — Broader tech/AI debate and simultaneous earnings from other megacaps amplified volatility; analysts remain divided between the ad/AI revenue upside and rising capital intensity. Earnings Day Context
• Negative Sentiment: Raised capex outlook and AI spending — Management materially lifted multi‑year capital‑expenditure guidance to fund AI data centers (guidance now much higher through 2026), which shocked investors concerned about near‑term returns and margin pressure. CapEx Forecast Lift
• Negative Sentiment: After‑hours selloff and investor reaction — Despite the beat, increased capex and mixed user growth commentary led to a notable after‑hours decline in the stock. Stock Plunge After Earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Reality Labs losses persist — Reality Labs posted another multibillion‑dollar operating loss (>$4B), a continued cash drag with little near‑term revenue offset. Reality Labs Losses
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory and legal risks — EU regulators charged Meta for failing to prevent under‑13s accessing Instagram/Facebook (potential fines), China blocked Meta’s Manus acquisition prompting a potential unwind, and a shareholder law‑firm probe into board oversight was announced — all add near‑term regulatory/legal overhang. EU Charges Manus Deal Blocked Board Investigation

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on META. Tigress Financial upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $935.00 to $945.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Citigroup reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, January 29th. DA Davidson raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Truist Financial upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Wedbush lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $880.00 to $900.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $837.09.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Sentinel Pension Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Sentinel Pension Advisors LLC now owns 915 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $672,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Alpine Bank Wealth Management grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Alpine Bank Wealth Management now owns 4,301 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $3,159,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. 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 during the last quarter. First National Bank Sioux Falls increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. First National Bank Sioux Falls now owns 2,001 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,321,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Levin Capital Strategies L.P. increased its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $649,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

About Meta Platforms

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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