Analysts Set Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Price Target at $577.26

Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the forty ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have assigned a hold recommendation, thirty-four have given a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $577.26.

META has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $450.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on 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 increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Meta Platforms stock opened at $561.35 on Tuesday. Meta Platforms has a 12-month low of $279.40 and a 12-month high of $564.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.83 and a quick ratio of 2.83. The company has a market capitalization of $1.42 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.21. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $507.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $497.22.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.70 by $0.46. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 34.16% and a net margin of 34.34%. The business had revenue of $39.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.26 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.23 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms will post 21.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.36%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 11.49%.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 901 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 33,324 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,034,122.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 901 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $451.15, for a total transaction of $406,486.15. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,324 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,034,122.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 9,760 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Monday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $502.87, for a total value of $4,908,011.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 247,915 shares in the company, valued at $124,669,016.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 356,426 shares of company stock valued at $185,053,425 over the last 90 days. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Anchor Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 20,112 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $10,141,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its position in Meta Platforms by 926.6% during the second quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 733,358 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $369,774,000 after buying an additional 661,923 shares during the period. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 7.6% in the 2nd quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. now owns 14,495 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $7,309,000 after acquiring an additional 1,024 shares in the last quarter. American Trust boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. American Trust now owns 3,267 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,647,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the period. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 46.4% during the 2nd quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 9,962 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $5,023,000 after acquiring an additional 3,158 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.