Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) had its price objective cut by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $725.00 to $610.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the social networking company's stock.
META has been the subject of several other research reports. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $736.00 to $786.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed an "underperform" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $770.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $688.00 to $765.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $701.38.
Check Out Our Latest Analysis on META
Meta Platforms Price Performance
META traded down $2.72 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $543.57. The company's stock had a trading volume of 17,619,060 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,764,979. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $628.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $609.11. The company has a quick ratio of 2.98, a current ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.38 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.28. Meta Platforms has a 12 month low of $414.50 and a 12 month high of $740.91.
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.75 by $1.27. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 37.91% and a return on equity of 38.17%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $5.33 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Meta Platforms will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Meta Platforms Increases Dividend
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.39%. This is an increase from Meta Platforms's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is currently 8.78%.
Insider Activity at Meta Platforms
In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $543.39, for a total value of $500,462.19. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 29,340 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,943,062.60. This trade represents a 3.04 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $606.77, for a total value of $250,596.01. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 16,688 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,125,777.76. This trade represents a 2.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 487,453 shares of company stock valued at $326,680,904. Insiders own 13.71% of the company's stock.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Valley Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Valley Financial Group Inc. now owns 588 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $344,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Lantern Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Lantern Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,976 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,743,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC now owns 1,640 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $960,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the period. Meredith Wealth Planning lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Meredith Wealth Planning now owns 1,873 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $1,097,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Maiden Cove Capital LLC lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Maiden Cove Capital LLC now owns 481 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $282,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
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
Thinking about investing in Meta, Roblox, or Unity? Enter your email to learn what streetwise investors need to know about the metaverse and public markets before making an investment.
Get This Free Report
