Meta Platforms' (META) Underperform Rating Reaffirmed at Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed their underperform rating on shares of Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $645.00 to $705.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $555.00 to $636.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Meta Platforms to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $715.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Guggenheim increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $665.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $654.20.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META traded up $1.07 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $648.56. 21,919,555 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,747,586. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $387.10 and a fifty-two week high of $663.87. The business's 50 day moving average is $601.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $560.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.64 trillion, a P/E ratio of 30.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.19.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.19 by $0.84. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 35.60% and a net margin of 35.55%. The company had revenue of $40.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $40.21 billion. On average, equities analysts expect that Meta Platforms will post 22.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.31%. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is currently 9.42%.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $618.00, for a total value of $559,290.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 30,200 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,663,600. This trade represents a 2.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 35,921 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $626.80, for a total value of $22,515,282.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 568,016 shares of company stock worth $346,031,180. 13.71% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in META. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,714 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $4,517,000 after buying an additional 583 shares during the period. Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,084 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $1,806,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the period. Inman Jager Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth approximately $253,000. Tyche Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms by 83.4% in the fourth quarter. Tyche Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,718 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $2,762,000 after acquiring an additional 2,146 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LCM Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 14.6% during the fourth quarter. LCM Capital Management Inc now owns 2,924 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,712,000 after purchasing an additional 372 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Company Profile

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.