Insider Selling: Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) COO Sells 490 Shares of Stock

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) COO Javier Olivan sold 490 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $501.18, for a total value of $245,578.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 7,089 shares in the company, valued at $3,552,865.02. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

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

• On Friday, April 12th, Javier Olivan sold 490 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $517.75, for a total transaction of $253,697.50.
• On Friday, April 5th, Javier Olivan sold 490 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $516.51, for a total transaction of $253,089.90.
• On Monday, April 1st, Javier Olivan sold 490 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $486.75, for a total transaction of $238,507.50.
• On Friday, March 22nd, Javier Olivan sold 490 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $507.00, for a total value of $248,430.00.
• On Friday, March 15th, Javier Olivan sold 490 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $488.25, for a total value of $239,242.50.
• On Friday, March 8th, Javier Olivan sold 490 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $513.32, for a total value of $251,526.80.
• On Friday, March 1st, Javier Olivan sold 490 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $492.13, for a total transaction of $241,143.70.
• On Friday, February 23rd, Javier Olivan sold 490 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $488.03, for a total transaction of $239,134.70.
• On Thursday, February 15th, Javier Olivan sold 7,556 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $473.28, for a total transaction of $3,576,103.68.
• On Monday, January 29th, Javier Olivan sold 6,500 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $400.00, for a total value of $2,600,000.00.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $493.50 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $495.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $403.14. The company has a market cap of $1.26 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.20. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $207.13 and a 12-month high of $531.49. The company has a quick ratio of 2.67, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The social networking company reported $5.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.82 by $0.51. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 29.48% and a net margin of 28.98%. The firm had revenue of $40.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.12 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.00 earnings per share. Meta Platforms’s quarterly revenue was up 24.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 21st. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.42%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $425.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Susquehanna boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $400.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $450.00 to $525.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Wedbush lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $420.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, thirty-eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $520.28.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. S.A. Mason LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. S.A. Mason LLC now owns 1,328 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $645,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 2.0% during the first quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN now owns 1,057 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $513,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 5.3% in the first quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 435 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $211,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. LongView Wealth Management increased its position in Meta Platforms by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. LongView Wealth Management now owns 1,762 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $856,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Madison Wealth Partners Inc grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Madison Wealth Partners Inc now owns 1,417 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $502,000 after buying an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.