Roth Mkm Increases Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Price Target to $620.00

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) had its target price upped by Roth Mkm from $550.00 to $620.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the social networking company's stock.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Barclays lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $520.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Loop Capital raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $570.00 to $620.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Wedbush reaffirmed an outperform rating and set a $600.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $560.00 to $655.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $609.71.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 1.0 %

META traded up $5.97 on Friday, hitting $589.80. 5,124,481 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 15,344,392. Meta Platforms has a twelve month low of $279.40 and a twelve month high of $602.95. The company has a market cap of $1.49 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a current ratio of 2.83, a quick ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $536.08 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $504.92.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.70 by $0.46. The firm had revenue of $39.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $38.26 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 34.16% and a net margin of 34.34%. Meta Platforms's revenue for the quarter was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.23 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Meta Platforms will post 21.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.34%. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is 10.21%.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $589.89, for a total value of $533,850.45. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 34,197 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,172,468.33. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $589.89, for a total transaction of $533,850.45. Following the sale, the insider now owns 34,197 shares in the company, valued at $20,172,468.33. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 412 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $463.00, for a total transaction of $190,756.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 5,559 shares in the company, valued at $2,573,817. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 252,443 shares of company stock worth $133,105,284. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Meta Platforms

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 527.3% in the first quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the second quarter worth $38,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 122.2% in the second quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 80 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 95.6% in the first quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 88 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the first quarter worth $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

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.