Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Given New $675.00 Price Target at TD Cowen

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) had its target price hoisted by TD Cowen from $600.00 to $675.00 in a research note published on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the social networking company's stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. DA Davidson initiated coverage on Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $600.00 price target for the company. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Barclays boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $520.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $647.00 to $652.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $617.37.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ META traded up $0.14 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $576.93. 8,687,296 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 15,244,576. The company has a market cap of $1.46 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.22. Meta Platforms has a one year low of $279.40 and a one year high of $602.95. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $545.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $508.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 2.83 and a current ratio of 2.83.

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

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.35%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.49%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 150 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.49, for a total transaction of $75,073.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 124,387 shares in the company, valued at $62,254,449.63. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $489.80, for a total value of $443,269.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 35,130 shares in the company, valued at $17,206,674. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 150 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.49, for a total value of $75,073.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 124,387 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $62,254,449.63. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 250,816 shares of company stock worth $132,421,828. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 187,180,393 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $90,891,055,000 after buying an additional 831,047 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.6% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 38,299,316 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $18,597,382,000 after acquiring an additional 244,803 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 14.5% in the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 34,597,001 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $16,799,612,000 after buying an additional 4,379,826 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 24.7% in the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 13,867,398 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $6,733,731,000 after buying an additional 2,748,620 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GQG Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.1% in the first quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 11,497,335 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $5,582,876,000 after buying an additional 342,742 shares in the last quarter. 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.