Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Trading 1.5% Higher

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)’s share price was up 1.5% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $539.40 and last traded at $534.80. Approximately 5,336,972 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 67% from the average daily volume of 16,204,949 shares. The stock had previously closed at $526.73.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $630.00 to $635.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. TD Cowen lifted 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. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $522.00 to $555.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Raymond James increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 1st. Finally, Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $570.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, thirty-three have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $574.41.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $1.34 trillion, a PE ratio of 30.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a quick ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $502.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $490.42.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its earnings results 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. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 34.34% and a return on equity of 34.16%. The company had revenue of $39.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.26 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.23 EPS. Meta Platforms’s revenue was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.38%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,950 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $526.76, for a total transaction of $4,714,502.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 74,579 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,285,234.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 2,011 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.92, for a total transaction of $1,007,350.12. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 318,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $159,759,417.44. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,950 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $526.76, for a total value of $4,714,502.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 74,579 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,285,234.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 418,680 shares of company stock worth $211,992,147. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in META. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Clear Investment Research LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 411.1% in the 4th quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 92 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC boosted 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 worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the second quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.