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

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $629.56, for a total value of $260,008.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 18,340 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,546,130.40. This represents a 2.20 % 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 the SEC website.

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

• On Monday, December 9th, Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $623.50, for a total value of $257,505.50.
• On Monday, December 2nd, Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $577.49, for a total value of $238,503.37.
• On Monday, November 25th, Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $562.77, for a total transaction of $232,424.01.
• On Monday, November 18th, Javier Olivan sold 620 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $557.00, for a total transaction of $345,340.00.
• On Friday, November 15th, Javier Olivan sold 4,891 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $577.16, for a total value of $2,822,889.56.
• On Friday, November 1st, Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $567.58, for a total value of $234,410.54.
• On Friday, October 25th, Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $574.16, for a total transaction of $237,128.08.
• On Friday, October 18th, Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $580.65, for a total transaction of $239,808.45.
• On Friday, October 11th, Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $584.83, for a total value of $241,534.79.
• On Friday, October 4th, Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $583.73, for a total value of $241,080.49.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 3.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:META traded down $22.25 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $597.19. 16,638,428 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 14,727,131. The company has a quick ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 2.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.51 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.20. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $340.01 and a one year high of $638.40. The business's 50 day moving average is $585.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $540.45.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.19 by $0.84. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 35.60% and a net margin of 35.55%. The business had revenue of $40.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $40.21 billion. As a group, research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.33%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.42%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on META shares. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $555.00 to $636.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $600.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Mizuho upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $638.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of META. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 48,160,608 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $27,470,870,000 after buying an additional 698,884 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 14,440,868 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $8,266,531,000 after purchasing an additional 263,063 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.9% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,827,565 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $7,915,451,000 after purchasing an additional 118,298 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 57,001.5% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 9,517,111 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $5,447,975,000 after purchasing an additional 9,500,444 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 2.8% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,754,450 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $3,911,029,000 after purchasing an additional 208,677 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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