Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) COO Javier Olivan Sells 4,706 Shares

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) COO Javier Olivan sold 4,706 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Saturday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $736.67, for a total transaction of $3,466,769.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 20,935 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,422,186.45. The trade was a 18.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

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

• 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.
• On Monday, February 3rd, Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $676.00, for a total value of $279,188.00.
• On Monday, January 27th, Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $627.59, for a total value of $259,194.67.
• On Tuesday, January 21st, Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $618.00, for a total value of $255,234.00.
• On Monday, January 13th, Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $606.77, for a total transaction of $250,596.01.
• On Monday, January 6th, Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $612.10, for a total transaction of $252,797.30.
• On Monday, December 30th, Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $589.16, for a total transaction of $243,323.08.
• On Monday, December 23rd, Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $590.00, for a total transaction of $243,670.00.
• On Monday, December 16th, Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $629.56, for a total value of $260,008.28.
• On Monday, December 9th, Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $623.50, for a total value of $257,505.50.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ META traded down $11.22 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $683.62. 15,609,265 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 15,750,735. The company has a market cap of $1.73 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.20. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $414.50 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 stock's 50 day simple moving average is $647.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $590.57.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $6.75 by $1.27. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.17% and a net margin of 37.91%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $5.33 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.31%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Meta Platforms's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is 8.36%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

META has been the topic of several recent research reports. DA Davidson upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $685.00 to $752.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $688.00 to $765.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $583.00 to $627.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Arete Research raised shares of Meta Platforms to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $717.90.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of META. AMF Tjanstepension AB boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 32.5% in the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 457,092 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $261,680,000 after acquiring an additional 112,047 shares in the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC raised 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 valued at $946,000 after acquiring an additional 251 shares in the last quarter. Waypoint Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Waypoint Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,424 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,388,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Alliance Advisory Group LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 6.3% in the third quarter. Wealth Alliance Advisory Group LLC now owns 4,985 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $2,854,000 after acquiring an additional 297 shares during the period. Finally, Veracity Capital LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Veracity Capital LLC now owns 3,394 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $1,943,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

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.