Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report)'s stock price rose 0.5% during trading on Monday after Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on the stock from $600.00 to $675.00. Sanford C. Bernstein currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Meta Platforms traded as high as $583.75 and last traded at $576.30. Approximately 2,917,268 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 15,020,117 shares. The stock had previously closed at $573.25.
META has been the topic of several other reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $555.00 to $636.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. JMP Securities lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $635.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $570.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $590.00 to $663.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $621.63.
Check Out Our Latest Analysis on Meta Platforms
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $574.70, for a total value of $520,103.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 32,387 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,612,808.90. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $574.70, for a total transaction of $520,103.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 32,387 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,612,808.90. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $557.52, for a total transaction of $11,150,400.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 338,662 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $188,810,838.24. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 250,817 shares of company stock valued at $132,547,715 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company's stock.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms
A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 527.3% during the 1st quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter worth $38,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 122.2% during the 2nd quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 80 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 95.6% during the 1st quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 88 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter worth $44,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Meta Platforms Stock Performance
The company's fifty day simple moving average is $551.05 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $510.65. 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 company has a market capitalization of $1.47 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.22.
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 34.34% and a return on equity of 34.16%. The company had revenue of $39.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.26 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.23 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Meta Platforms Announces Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.35%. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is currently 11.49%.
Meta Platforms Company Profile
(
Get Free Report)
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.
Featured Articles
Before you consider Meta Platforms, you'll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Meta Platforms wasn't on the list.
While Meta Platforms currently has a "Moderate Buy" rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.
View The Five Stocks Here
Which stocks are major institutional investors including hedge funds and endowments buying in today's market? Click the link below and we'll send you MarketBeat's list of thirteen stocks that institutional investors are buying up as quickly as they can.
Get This Free Report
