Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) had its price objective decreased by Cantor Fitzgerald from $730.00 to $720.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday, MarketBeat.com reports. Cantor Fitzgerald currently has an overweight rating on the social networking company's stock. Cantor Fitzgerald also issued estimates for Meta Platforms' FY2025 earnings at $25.53 EPS.
META has been the topic of a number of other reports. UBS Group boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $690.00 to $719.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $725.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Meta Platforms to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $641.00 to $685.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $652.98.
Read Our Latest Stock Report on Meta Platforms
Meta Platforms Stock Performance
Shares of META traded up $7.04 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $623.50. The stock had a trading volume of 12,255,768 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,043,130. The firm has a market cap of $1.57 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.19. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $598.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $558.31. Meta Platforms has a one year low of $382.08 and a one year high of $638.40. The company has a current ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 2.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.19 by $0.84. The business had revenue of $40.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $40.21 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 35.60% and a net margin of 35.55%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms will post 22.96 EPS for the current year.
Meta Platforms Announces Dividend
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.32%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.42%.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $574.16, for a total value of $237,128.08. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 10,707 shares in the company, valued at $6,147,531.12. This trade represents a 3.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $580.10, for a total transaction of $524,990.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 31,482 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,262,708.20. The trade was a 2.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 531,190 shares of company stock worth $322,938,501. 13.71% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms
Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 57,001.5% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 9,517,111 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $5,447,975,000 after purchasing an additional 9,500,444 shares during the period. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 61,769.3% during the 3rd quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC now owns 4,132,870 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $2,365,820,000 after acquiring an additional 4,126,190 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 4,658.5% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 909,548 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $520,662,000 after acquiring an additional 890,434 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 48,160,608 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $27,470,870,000 after purchasing an additional 698,884 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 926.6% in the 2nd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 733,358 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $369,774,000 after purchasing an additional 661,923 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.
Meta Platforms Company Profile
(
Get Free Report)
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.
Read More
Before you consider Meta Platforms, you'll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Meta Platforms wasn't on the list.
While Meta Platforms currently has a "Moderate Buy" rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.
View The Five Stocks Here
Nuclear energy stocks are roaring. It's the hottest energy sector of the year. Cameco Corp, Paladin Energy, and BWX Technologies were all up more than 40% in 2024. The biggest market moves could still be ahead of us, and there are seven nuclear energy stocks that could rise much higher in the next several months. To unlock these tickers, enter your email address below.
Get This Free Report
