Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Stock Price Up 1.1% - Here's Why

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) shares traded up 1.1% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $585.12 and last traded at $584.24. 2,499,433 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 83% from the average session volume of 14,998,524 shares. The stock had previously closed at $578.16.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Rosenblatt Securities upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $643.00 to $811.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $621.63.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

The business has a 50 day moving average of $552.03 and a 200 day moving average of $511.04. The company has a market cap of $1.50 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.83 and a quick ratio of 2.83.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted 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 business 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 firm's quarterly revenue was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.23 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.44 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.34%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 11.49%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 901 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $451.15, for a total value of $406,486.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 33,324 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,034,122.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $580.65, for a total transaction of $239,808.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 11,120 shares in the company, valued at $6,456,828. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 901 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $451.15, for a total value of $406,486.15. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 33,324 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,034,122.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 250,817 shares of company stock worth $132,547,715. 13.71% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of META. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 57,001.5% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 9,517,111 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $5,447,975,000 after acquiring an additional 9,500,444 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 14.5% in the 1st 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 increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 24.7% in the 1st 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. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter worth about $595,152,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.