Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) COO Javier Olivan Sells 608 Shares

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) COO Javier Olivan sold 608 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $736.07, for a total transaction of $447,530.56. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 9,878 shares in the company, valued at $7,270,899.46. This represents a 5.80 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

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

• On Saturday, February 15th, Javier Olivan sold 4,706 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were 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 shares were 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 shares were sold at an average price of $627.59, for a total transaction 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 transaction 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 shares were 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 shares were 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 stock was sold at an average price of $629.56, for a total transaction 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 transaction of $257,505.50.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of META opened at $694.84 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $1.76 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.20. The business has a fifty day moving average of $645.83 and a 200 day moving average of $589.12. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $414.50 and a 52-week 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.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 prior year, the business earned $5.33 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.66 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.30%. This is an increase from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.36%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Meta Platforms to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Susquehanna increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $770.00 target price (up from $700.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Raymond James reissued a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $800.00 target price (up from $725.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Two investment 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.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $717.90.

Institutional Trading of Meta Platforms

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 58,218 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $34,087,000 after purchasing an additional 808 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 140,585 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $82,314,000 after buying an additional 897 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake 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 buying an additional 118,298 shares during the period. LS Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 111.4% during the third quarter. LS Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,679 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $6,686,000 after buying an additional 6,155 shares during the period. Finally, Apollon Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 11.1% during the fourth quarter. Apollon Financial LLC now owns 1,479 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $866,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by 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.