Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) COO Sells $559,831.82 in Stock

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) COO Javier Olivan sold 926 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $604.57, for a total value of $559,831.82. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 6,853 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,143,118.21. This trade represents a 11.90% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

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

• On Monday, May 11th, Javier Olivan sold 629 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $604.57, for a total value of $380,274.53.
• On Monday, May 4th, Javier Olivan sold 629 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $607.74, for a total transaction of $382,268.46.
• On Monday, May 4th, Javier Olivan sold 926 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.74, for a total transaction of $562,767.24.
• On Monday, April 27th, Javier Olivan sold 926 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $670.84, for a total transaction of $621,197.84.
• On Monday, April 27th, Javier Olivan sold 629 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $670.84, for a total transaction of $421,958.36.
• On Monday, April 20th, Javier Olivan sold 629 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $680.09, for a total transaction of $427,776.61.
• On Monday, April 20th, Javier Olivan sold 926 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $680.09, for a total transaction of $629,763.34.
• On Monday, April 13th, Javier Olivan sold 1,887 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $629.55, for a total value of $1,187,960.85.
• On Monday, April 13th, Javier Olivan sold 2,778 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $629.45, for a total value of $1,748,612.10.
• On Monday, March 23rd, Javier Olivan sold 629 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $605.38, for a total value of $380,784.02.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

META traded up $13.63 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $616.63. The company had a trading volume of 14,583,757 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,978,258. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $520.26 and a 1 year high of $796.25. The company has a quick ratio of 2.35, a current ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The company has a market cap of $1.56 trillion, a P/E ratio of 22.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.25. The business has a 50-day moving average of $624.72 and a two-hundred day moving average of $642.58.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.67 by $3.77. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 36.93% and a net margin of 32.84%.The company had revenue of $56.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.56 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $6.43 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Investors of record on Monday, March 16th were paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 16th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 7.63%.

Key Headlines Impacting Meta Platforms

Here are the key news stories impacting Meta Platforms this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Meta is rolling out a new WhatsApp “incognito” mode for AI chats, which could help ease privacy concerns and support broader adoption of its AI features. Meta launches WhatsApp ‘incognito’ mode to address privacy concerns for AI chats
• Positive Sentiment: Investors are also focused on Meta’s AI monetization and infrastructure buildout, including reports that it is working on a large financing package for a new Texas data center and continuing to spend aggressively on AI talent and compute. JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM): Funding AI Projects With Eyes on Blockchain
• Positive Sentiment: Some market commentary remains constructive on Big Tech valuations, suggesting there may still be room for META and peers to run if AI growth stays strong. Big Growth. ‘Undemanding’ Prices.
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles highlight ongoing analyst debate about META’s post-earnings setup, with some noting margin pressure from heavy AI investment but also multiple paths to AI-driven monetization.
• Neutral Sentiment: Rokos Capital Management reportedly trimmed its META position, and PRIMECAP Management also reduced its stake, but these look more like portfolio rebalancing than a clear business-specific warning. Meta Platforms, Inc. (META): Chris Rokos Trims Position
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta also offered rival AI chatbots temporary access to WhatsApp as part of discussions with EU antitrust regulators, signaling ongoing regulatory management rather than a major new setback. Meta offers rival AI chatbots free access to WhatsApp for a month
• Negative Sentiment: A California county filed a lawsuit alleging Meta profited from scam ads on Facebook and Instagram, which raises legal, compliance, and reputational risk around its core ad business. Meta loses court fight over compensation to Italian publishers
• Negative Sentiment: Meta also lost a court fight in Europe over compensation to Italian publishers, adding to concerns that regulators may force the company to pay more to content owners and tighten monetization rules.
• Negative Sentiment: Reports about additional job cuts suggest Meta is continuing to reshape costs as it pivots toward AI, which can signal both efficiency gains and ongoing internal pressure. More Job Cuts on the Way at Meta Platforms, Inc. (META) amid AI Pivot for Efficiency and Growth

Institutional Trading of Meta Platforms

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 34.2% during the third quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 52,252 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $38,373,000 after acquiring an additional 13,311 shares during the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 15.7% in the 4th quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 133,798 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $88,319,000 after purchasing an additional 18,169 shares during the last quarter. Becker Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Becker Capital Management Inc. now owns 35,052 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $25,741,000 after purchasing an additional 1,657 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co. boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Diversified Trust Co. now owns 84,059 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $55,487,000 after purchasing an additional 3,336 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms by 16.2% during the 3rd quarter. Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC now owns 6,933 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $5,091,000 after purchasing an additional 968 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Raymond James Financial decreased their price target on Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $800.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 26th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Meta Platforms from $908.00 to $865.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Pivotal Research dropped their price target on Meta Platforms from $930.00 to $910.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Tigress Financial boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $935.00 to $945.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $930.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $840.31.

Meta Platforms Company Profile

Meta Platforms, Inc (NASDAQ: META), formerly Facebook, Inc, is a global technology company best known for building social networking services and immersive computing platforms. Founded in 2004 and headquartered in Menlo Park, California, the company operates a family of consumer-facing products and services that connect users, creators and businesses. In October 2021 the company rebranded as Meta to reflect an expanded strategic focus on augmented and virtual reality technologies alongside its social media businesses.

Meta’s core consumer products include Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger, which enable social networking, messaging, content sharing and community building across mobile and desktop devices.