Cantor Fitzgerald Issues Positive Forecast for Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Stock Price

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) had its price target raised by Cantor Fitzgerald from $720.00 to $790.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the social networking company's stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on META. Raymond James reissued a "strong-buy" rating and set a $800.00 price objective (up from $725.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $590.00 to $663.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $620.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-six have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $706.76.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 1.6 %

META stock traded up $10.51 during trading on Thursday, reaching $687.00. 29,291,306 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 15,714,160. The company has a current ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 2.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.73 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.19. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $608.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $563.58. Meta Platforms has a 1 year low of $387.10 and a 1 year high of $710.79.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.75 by $1.27. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 35.55% and a return on equity of 35.60%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $5.33 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Meta Platforms will post 22.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is currently 9.42%.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, insider Nicholas Clegg sold 7,296 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $553.48, for a total transaction of $4,038,190.08. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 38,695 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,416,908.60. This trade represents a 15.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,951 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $577.16, for a total value of $5,166,159.16. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 51,591 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $29,776,261.56. This represents a 14.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 662,217 shares of company stock worth $407,980,152. Insiders own 13.71% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. JDM Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the third quarter worth about $30,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the third quarter valued at $36,000. Avondale Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth $41,000. Halpern Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter worth $46,000. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter valued at about $49,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.