Insider Selling: Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) COO Sells 517 Shares of Stock

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $665.00, for a total transaction of $343,805.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 10,132 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,737,780. The trade was a 4.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

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

• On Tuesday, January 20th, Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $608.35, for a total value of $314,516.95.
• On Monday, January 12th, Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $653.00, for a total transaction of $337,601.00.
• On Monday, January 5th, Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $650.41, for a total transaction of $336,261.97.
• On Monday, December 29th, Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $658.14, for a total value of $340,258.38.
• On Monday, December 22nd, Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $661.11, for a total value of $341,793.87.
• On Monday, December 15th, Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $646.00, for a total value of $333,982.00.
• On Monday, December 8th, Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $669.63, for a total value of $346,198.71.
• On Monday, December 1st, Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $639.03, for a total transaction of $330,378.51.
• On Monday, November 24th, Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $598.54, for a total value of $309,445.18.
• On Monday, November 17th, Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $604.23, for a total value of $312,386.91.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 0.6%

META stock traded down $4.24 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $668.73. 24,558,039 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 15,521,992. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a current ratio of 1.98. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $645.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $696.04. The company has a market cap of $1.69 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.29. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $479.80 and a 1-year high of $796.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The social networking company reported $7.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.74 by $0.51. The business had revenue of $51.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $49.34 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 30.89% and a return on equity of 39.35%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 26.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $6.03 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th were given a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 15th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.28%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. Westchester Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Bare Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 237.5% during the 2nd quarter. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC now owns 54 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Briaud Financial Planning Inc bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Knuff & Co LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the second quarter valued at about $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Quarterly beat and stronger near‑term revenue guide: Meta reported Q4 EPS of $8.88 (vs. $8.16 est.) and revenue of $59.9B (beat $58.4B consensus); management gave Q1 revenue guidance of $53.5B–$56.5B, above Street estimates — supporting near‑term growth expectations. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Ad strength and product monetization: Management cited continued advertising growth and engagement gains (AI tools are raising ad effectiveness), and Meta is testing paid subscriptions across Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp to diversify revenue. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Strategic supplier deals for AI infrastructure: Meta signed a multiyear fiber‑optic supply agreement (up to ~$6B with Corning) to scale data centers — a long‑term infrastructure play that supports AI capacity but ties up capital. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst reaction mixed but generally constructive: Several firms reiterated/raised ratings (Evercore, Rothschild Redb) even as some houses trimmed targets; consensus still expects strong 2026 earnings but is watching spending closely. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Big jump in AI capex and operating spend: Management said annual AI‑related spending will rise sharply (reporting plans that imply ~$115B of total spending this year vs. ~$72B last year), increasing near‑term capital intensity and cash outflows. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Reality Labs losses remain large: Reality Labs posted a $6.02B operating loss in Q4 on ~$955M revenue — a continuing drag and reminder that Meta’s metaverse/AR investments are not near term profits. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Investor focus on spending discipline: Despite the beat, the market is reacting to guidance that implies materially higher capex and operating costs; several headlines and commentators flagged the need for clearer ROI metrics on the AI buildout, which is pressuring sentiment. Read More.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on META shares. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Meta Platforms from $820.00 to $750.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Wedbush lowered their target price on Meta Platforms from $920.00 to $880.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, December 29th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $822.00.

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.