Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Trading 0.5% Higher on Analyst Upgrade

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) shares rose 0.5% during mid-day trading on Friday after TD Cowen raised their price target on the stock from $600.00 to $675.00. TD Cowen currently has a buy rating on the stock. Meta Platforms traded as high as $583.97 and last traded at $579.66. Approximately 2,596,915 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 83% from the average daily volume of 15,181,635 shares. The stock had previously closed at $576.93.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $570.00 to $620.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Mizuho boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday. Roth Mkm boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $620.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Benchmark restated a "hold" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Loop Capital boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Two investment 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $617.37.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now owns 35,130 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,206,674. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 412 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $463.00, for a total value of $190,756.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 5,559 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,573,817. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were 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. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 250,816 shares of company stock valued at $132,421,828. 13.71% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Meta Platforms

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Gradient Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 8.9% in the 2nd quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 72,587 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $36,600,000 after acquiring an additional 5,953 shares during the last quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 14.0% in the 1st quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 6,101,501 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $2,962,767,000 after acquiring an additional 748,076 shares during the last quarter. ERn Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 59.0% during the 1st quarter. ERn Financial LLC now owns 1,652 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $802,000 after purchasing an additional 613 shares during the last quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 26.5% during the 2nd quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. now owns 1,678 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $846,000 after purchasing an additional 352 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lincoln National Corp increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 7.8% during the 1st quarter. Lincoln National Corp now owns 34,790 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $16,894,000 after purchasing an additional 2,504 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 0.1 %

The business has a 50-day moving average of $546.53 and a 200-day moving average of $508.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 2.83 and a current ratio of 2.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.46 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.22.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 period last year, the company earned $3.23 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.37 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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

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.