Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Shares Up 0.4%

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) shares rose 0.4% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $542.10 and last traded at $535.15. Approximately 4,417,019 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 72% from the average daily volume of 15,635,368 shares. The stock had previously closed at $533.28.

Analyst Ratings Changes

META has been the subject of several analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $660.00 target price for the company. Loop Capital upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, thirty-four have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $577.26.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $505.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $495.81. The company has a current ratio of 2.83, a quick ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The stock has a market cap of $1.36 trillion, a P/E ratio of 30.74, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.21.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.70 by $0.46. The company had revenue of $39.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.26 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 34.34% and a return on equity of 34.16%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.23 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.37%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 11.49%.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $496.99, for a total value of $449,775.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 38,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,258,362.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $496.99, for a total value of $449,775.95. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 38,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,258,362.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Peggy Alford sold 1,052 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $479.00, for a total transaction of $503,908.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,168 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,954,472. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 357,574 shares of company stock worth $185,587,773. Corporate insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 527.3% during the 1st quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the second quarter worth approximately $38,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 122.2% in the second quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 80 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 95.6% during the first quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 88 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. 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.