Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Trading 0.2% Higher Following Analyst Upgrade

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)’s share price traded up 0.2% during mid-day trading on Monday after Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their price target on the stock from $570.00 to $620.00. Monness Crespi & Hardt currently has a buy rating on the stock. Meta Platforms traded as high as $570.38 and last traded at $568.26. 1,944,920 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 87% from the average session volume of 15,543,364 shares. The stock had previously closed at $567.36.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $620.00 price objective for the company. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. TD Securities boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $600.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. JMP Securities lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $635.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $597.95.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 5,057 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 $2,663,825.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 11,990 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,315,852.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 5,057 shares of the business’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 value of $2,663,825.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 11,990 shares in the company, valued at $6,315,852.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $570.00, for a total transaction of $235,410.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 12,359 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,044,630. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 308,462 shares of company stock worth $162,308,065 over the last ninety days. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 during the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 122.2% during the second quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 80 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 95.6% in the first quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 88 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Finally, Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the first quarter worth $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 0.7 %

The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $519.65 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $500.85. The company has a quick ratio of 2.83, a current ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The stock has a market cap of $1.46 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.21.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.70 by $0.46. The firm 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 was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.23 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.35%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 11.49%.

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.