Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Given Underperform Rating at Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC restated their underperform rating on shares of Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) in a report released on Thursday, Benzinga reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on META. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $605.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday. Loop Capital increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $575.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Roth Mkm increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $620.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given 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, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $632.90.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of Meta Platforms stock traded down $24.22 on Thursday, reaching $567.58. 26,671,946 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 15,159,794. The firm's 50 day moving average is $554.49 and its 200-day moving average is $512.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 2.83 and a current ratio of 2.83. Meta Platforms has a one year low of $296.86 and a one year high of $602.95. The firm has a market cap of $1.44 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.22.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.19 by $0.84. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 34.16% and a net margin of 34.34%. The firm had revenue of $40.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $40.21 billion. As a group, analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms will post 21.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $574.16, for a total transaction of $237,128.08. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 10,707 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,147,531.12. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now owns 32,387 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,612,808.90. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $574.16, for a total transaction of $237,128.08. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 10,707 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,147,531.12. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 250,818 shares of company stock worth $132,569,993. Insiders own 13.71% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 527.3% in the 1st quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. POM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 122.2% in the 2nd quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 80 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 95.6% in the 1st quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 88 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Halpern Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

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.