Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Shares Up 1.9% - What's Next?

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report)'s share price traded up 1.9% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $633.88 and last traded at $630.61. 6,247,923 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 55% from the average session volume of 13,810,173 shares. The stock had previously closed at $618.85.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on META shares. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $688.00 to $765.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. KeyCorp lowered their target price on Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $710.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $660.00 to $725.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $710.00 to $765.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Two 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 MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $718.31.

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Meta Platforms Price Performance

The company's 50 day moving average price is $655.95 and its 200 day moving average price is $607.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a current ratio of 2.98. The company has a market cap of $1.46 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.23.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 earnings per share 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 previous year, the business earned $5.33 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.525 dividend. This is an increase from Meta Platforms's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.37%. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is presently 8.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 4,706 shares of the stock in a transaction on Saturday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $736.67, for a total value of $3,466,769.02. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 20,935 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,422,186.45. This trade represents a 18.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $591.76, for a total value of $535,542.80. Following the sale, the insider now owns 32,915 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,477,780.40. The trade was a 2.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 584,823 shares of company stock valued at $386,274,777. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Meta Platforms

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Valley Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 14 shares during the period. Lantern Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 14 shares during the period. Seelaus Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 worth $960,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Meredith Wealth Planning grew its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. Finally, Maiden Cove Capital LLC increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Maiden Cove Capital LLC now owns 481 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $282,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.