Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Sets New 52-Week High Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock traded as high as $694.66 and last traded at $689.92, with a volume of 1195511 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $676.49.

The social networking company reported $8.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $6.75 by $1.27. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 35.60% and a net margin of 35.55%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $5.33 earnings per share.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

META has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday. Mizuho lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday. Benchmark upgraded shares of Meta Platforms from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $820.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Two investment 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 given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $706.76.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 35,921 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $673.57, for a total transaction of $24,195,307.97. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $567.58, for a total value of $234,410.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 10,294 shares in the company, valued at $5,842,668.52. This trade represents a 3.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 662,217 shares of company stock valued at $407,980,152. Corporate insiders own 13.71% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Ballentine Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 58,218 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $34,087,000 after purchasing an additional 808 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 140,585 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $82,314,000 after purchasing an additional 897 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,827,565 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $7,915,451,000 after acquiring an additional 118,298 shares during the period. LS Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 111.4% in the third quarter. LS Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,679 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $6,686,000 after acquiring an additional 6,155 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. now owns 9,735 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $5,573,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 2.73 and a current ratio of 2.73. The company's fifty day moving average price is $608.52 and its 200 day moving average price is $563.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.73 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.19.

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.