Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Receives $574.41 Consensus Target Price from Brokerages

Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" by the thirty-nine ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, thirty-three have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $574.41.

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on META shares. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $570.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $580.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Truist Financial upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $535.00 to $570.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price target on Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $575.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. They set an "underperform" rating and a $360.00 price objective for the company.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 5,057 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $526.76, for a total value of $2,663,825.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 11,990 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,315,852.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $476.69, for a total transaction of $431,404.45. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 42,370 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,197,355.30. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 5,057 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $526.76, for a total transaction of $2,663,825.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now owns 11,990 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,315,852.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 418,680 shares of company stock worth $211,992,147. Insiders own 13.71% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 24.2% in the fourth quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 835,972 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $295,901,000 after purchasing an additional 163,067 shares during the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.5% in 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 buying an additional 51,900 shares during the last quarter. Donoghue Forlines LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 94.4% in the 4th quarter. Donoghue Forlines LLC now owns 8,349 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $2,955,000 after acquiring an additional 4,054 shares during the period. Voyager Global Management LP lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 37.3% during the fourth quarter. Voyager Global Management LP now owns 515,000 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $182,289,000 after acquiring an additional 140,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 2,000 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:META traded down $3.93 during trading on Friday, reaching $528.00. The stock had a trading volume of 11,304,691 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,221,447. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.34 trillion, a PE ratio of 30.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.21. Meta Platforms has a 52 week low of $276.03 and a 52 week high of $544.23. The business's 50-day moving average price is $502.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $490.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.83 and a quick ratio of 2.68.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 earnings per share (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 business's revenue for the quarter was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.23 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Meta Platforms will post 20.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.38%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is 11.49%.

Meta Platforms Company Profile

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.