Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) had its price target lifted by Raymond James from $525.00 to $550.00 in a research report released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a strong-buy rating on the social networking company's stock.
A number of other research firms also recently commented on META. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $500.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Loop Capital decreased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $555.00 to $550.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $540.00 to $500.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $520.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $590.00 to $530.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, thirty-seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $510.41.
Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on Meta Platforms
Meta Platforms Stock Performance
META traded up $18.07 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $495.06. The company's stock had a trading volume of 15,676,052 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,094,891. The company has a quick ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. Meta Platforms has a one year low of $258.88 and a one year high of $531.49. The firm has a market cap of $1.26 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.21. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $480.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $434.27.
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.32 by $0.39. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.06% and a return on equity of 32.03%. The company had revenue of $36.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $36.28 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Meta Platforms will post 20.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.40%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is 11.49%.
Insider Activity at Meta Platforms
In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 490 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $513.32, for a total transaction of $251,526.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 10,029 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,148,086.28. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 490 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $513.32, for a total transaction of $251,526.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 10,029 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,148,086.28. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $431.05, for a total transaction of $252,164.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 36,643 shares in the company, valued at $15,794,965.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 635,968 shares of company stock worth $313,346,759. Insiders own 13.71% of the company's stock.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms
Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 3,576,285 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,265,862,000 after acquiring an additional 51,900 shares in the last quarter. Donoghue Forlines LLC lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 94.4% during the fourth quarter. Donoghue Forlines LLC now owns 8,349 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $2,955,000 after buying an additional 4,054 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 451,581 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $159,841,000 after purchasing an additional 32,423 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 400.0% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. now owns 2,500 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $885,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Stockton lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 9.2% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Stockton now owns 4,743 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $1,819,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
About Meta Platforms
(
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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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