Insider Selling: Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) COO Sells 413 Shares of Stock

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $522.00, for a total transaction of $215,586.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 13,598 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,098,156. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

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

• On Friday, August 30th, Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $521.35, for a total transaction of $215,317.55.
• On Friday, August 23rd, Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $536.92, for a total transaction of $221,747.96.
• On Thursday, August 15th, Javier Olivan sold 4,900 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $526.76, for a total transaction of $2,581,124.00.
• On Thursday, August 1st, Javier Olivan sold 412 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $521.48, for a total transaction of $214,849.76.
• On Thursday, July 25th, Javier Olivan sold 412 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $463.00, for a total transaction of $190,756.00.
• On Thursday, July 18th, Javier Olivan sold 412 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $474.86, for a total transaction of $195,642.32.
• On Thursday, July 11th, Javier Olivan sold 412 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $530.81, for a total transaction of $218,693.72.
• On Friday, July 5th, Javier Olivan sold 412 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $512.00, for a total transaction of $210,944.00.
• On Thursday, June 27th, Javier Olivan sold 412 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $514.41, for a total transaction of $211,936.92.
• On Thursday, June 20th, Javier Olivan sold 412 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $502.00, for a total transaction of $206,824.00.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

META opened at $504.79 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.28 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.21. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $505.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $494.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.83 and a quick ratio of 2.83. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $279.40 and a 12-month high of $544.23.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.70 by $0.46. The firm had revenue of $39.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.26 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 34.34% and a return on equity of 34.16%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.23 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.40%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 11.49%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on META. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $522.00 to $555.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $520.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Needham & Company LLC restated an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $565.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, thirty-four have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $577.26.

Institutional Trading of Meta Platforms

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Clear Investment Research LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 411.1% during the fourth quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 92 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 527.3% during the first quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the second quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 122.2% during the second quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 80 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Meta Platforms

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.