Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Now Covered by Analysts at Scotiabank

Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) in a research note released on Friday, Marketbeat reports. The firm issued a sector perform rating and a $585.00 price target on the social networking company’s stock.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Roth Mkm upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $510.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Benchmark restated a hold rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Wedbush reiterated an outperform rating and set a $600.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Tigress Financial upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $575.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock a strong-buy rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $565.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $609.71.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META opened at $589.95 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 2.83 and a current ratio of 2.83. The stock has a market capitalization 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 52-week low of $279.40 and a 52-week high of $602.95. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $538.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $505.52.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. Meta Platforms’s revenue was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.23 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms will post 21.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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. 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 currently 10.21%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 901 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were 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 directly owns 33,324 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,034,122.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 1,712 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $502.27, for a total transaction of $859,886.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 129,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $65,238,845.76. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 901 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $451.15, for a total transaction of $406,486.15. Following the sale, the insider now owns 33,324 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,034,122.60. 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 ninety days, insiders sold 252,443 shares of company stock valued at $133,105,284. Insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Meta Platforms

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms by 527.3% during the first quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter valued at $38,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings 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 worth $40,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the period. Richardson Financial Services Inc. increased 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 worth $41,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the first quarter valued at about $44,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently 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.