Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) shot up 5.7% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $535.34 and last traded at $528.84. 7,583,434 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 49% from the average session volume of 14,768,135 shares. The stock had previously closed at $500.28.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several equities analysts recently issued reports on META shares. Barclays raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $630.00 to $705.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $610.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Pivotal Research raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Arete Research raised shares of Meta Platforms to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-six have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $676.55.
View Our Latest Stock Analysis on Meta Platforms
Meta Platforms Trading Up 1.8 %
The firm has a market cap of $1.37 trillion, a PE ratio of 22.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a current ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $590.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $604.75.
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. 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 net margin of 37.91% and a return on equity of 38.17%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.33 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Meta Platforms Increases Dividend
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Meta Platforms's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is 8.78%.
Insider Activity at Meta Platforms
In other news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 22,366 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $648.68, for a total value of $14,508,376.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 580 shares of the company's stock, valued at $376,234.40. This represents a 97.47 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 406 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $491.69, for a total value of $199,626.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 4,608 shares in the company, valued at $2,265,707.52. This represents a 8.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 308,068 shares of company stock valued at $214,968,924. Corporate insiders own 13.71% of the company's stock.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms
A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. BankPlus Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 8.4% during the first quarter. BankPlus Wealth Management LLC now owns 437 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $252,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. Crown Wealth Group LLC increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 19.4% in the 1st quarter. Crown Wealth Group LLC now owns 2,988 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,722,000 after purchasing an additional 486 shares during the last quarter. Waterfront Wealth Inc. raised its position in Meta Platforms by 6.9% in the first quarter. Waterfront Wealth Inc. now owns 716 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $413,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Wealthstar Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 11.6% during the first quarter. Wealthstar Advisors LLC now owns 2,101 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $1,211,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strid Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 9.1% during the first quarter. Strid Group LLC now owns 662 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $382,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Meta Platforms Company Profile
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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.
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