Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Price Target Raised to $525.00

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) had its price target boosted by BMO Capital Markets from $475.00 to $525.00 in a report released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a market perform rating on the social networking company’s stock.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $580.00 to $645.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Rosenblatt Securities increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $643.00 to $811.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $647.00 to $652.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Pivotal Research initiated coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. They set a buy rating and a $780.00 price target on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $609.71.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 1.0 %

META stock opened at $589.95 on Wednesday. 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 company’s 50 day moving average is $538.12 and its 200 day moving average is $505.52. The stock has a market cap of $1.49 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.22. Meta Platforms has a 1-year low of $279.40 and a 1-year high of $602.95.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.70 by $0.46. The company had revenue of $39.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.26 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 34.34% and a return on equity of 34.16%. Meta Platforms’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.23 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Meta Platforms will post 21.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.21%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $589.89, for a total transaction of $533,850.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 34,197 shares in the company, valued at $20,172,468.33. 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. In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 412 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $463.00, for a total value of $190,756.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 5,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,573,817. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $589.89, for a total value of $533,850.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 34,197 shares in the company, valued at $20,172,468.33. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 252,443 shares of company stock valued at $133,105,284. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Benson Investment Management Company Inc. lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Benson Investment Management Company Inc. now owns 12,374 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $7,083,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 10,834 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $6,151,000 after acquiring an additional 266 shares in the last quarter. Iams Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 21.8% in the 3rd quarter. Iams Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,888 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,081,000 after acquiring an additional 338 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 716,847 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $410,352,000 after acquiring an additional 14,754 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wesbanco Bank Inc. lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 21.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 80,558 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $46,115,000 after acquiring an additional 14,456 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.