Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Stock Price Up 1% - What's Next?

Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) rose 1% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $601.20 and last traded at $598.99. Approximately 7,533,341 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 50% from the average daily volume of 15,010,554 shares. The stock had previously closed at $593.28.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on META. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Meta Platforms to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $670.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Needham & Company LLC reiterated an "underperform" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $570.00 to $620.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $621.63.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 0.2 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.50 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.99, 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. The company has a fifty day moving average of $554.49 and a 200-day moving average of $512.18.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.70 by $0.46. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 34.16% and a net margin of 34.34%. The company had revenue of $39.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.26 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.23 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is 11.49%.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 412 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $521.48, for a total value of $214,849.76. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 5,147 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,684,057.56. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 150 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $62,254,449.63. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 412 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $521.48, for a total transaction of $214,849.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 5,147 shares in the company, valued at $2,684,057.56. 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 251,230 shares of company stock worth $132,784,843 in the last 90 days. 13.71% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position 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 during the period. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 38,299,316 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $18,597,382,000 after purchasing an additional 244,803 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors boosted 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 valued at $16,799,612,000 after purchasing an additional 4,379,826 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 24.7% during 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 purchasing an additional 2,748,620 shares during the period. Finally, GQG Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.1% during the first quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 11,497,335 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $5,582,876,000 after buying an additional 342,742 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.