Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) COO Sells $370,272.00 in Stock

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) COO Javier Olivan sold 608 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $609.00, for a total value of $370,272.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 8,054 shares in the company, valued at $4,904,886. This trade represents a 7.02 % 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 link.

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

• On Monday, March 3rd, Javier Olivan sold 608 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $673.96, for a total value of $409,767.68.
• On Monday, February 24th, Javier Olivan sold 608 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $686.28, for a total value of $417,258.24.
• On Tuesday, February 18th, Javier Olivan sold 608 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $736.07, for a total transaction of $447,530.56.
• On Saturday, February 15th, Javier Olivan sold 4,706 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $736.67, for a total transaction of $3,466,769.02.
• On Monday, February 3rd, Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $676.00, for a total transaction 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 shares were 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.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 2.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $607.60 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.54 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.23. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $414.50 and a 52-week high of $740.91. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $658.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $602.61. The company has a quick ratio of 2.98, a current ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.75 by $1.27. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 37.91% and a return on equity of 38.17%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.33 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.35%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is currently 8.78%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. JDM Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the third quarter worth $36,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth $40,000. Avondale Wealth Management purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

META has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $770.00 price target (up from $700.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $670.00 to $775.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Susquehanna increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Arete Research upgraded shares of Meta Platforms to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $719.26.

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.