Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Sets New 52-Week High Following Analyst Upgrade

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday after JMP Securities raised their price target on the stock from $550.00 to $635.00. JMP Securities currently has a market outperform rating on the stock. Meta Platforms traded as high as $577.50 and last traded at $577.50, with a volume of 266680 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $568.31.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $660.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday. Bank of America raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $563.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $535.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Loop Capital boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, thirty-four have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $584.44.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $514.96, for a total value of $8,600,861.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 213,007 shares in the company, valued at approximately $109,690,084.72. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 10,000 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $569.93, for a total value of $5,699,300.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 328,662 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $187,314,333.66. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $514.96, for a total transaction of $8,600,861.92. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 213,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $109,690,084.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 359,060 shares of company stock valued at $188,031,963. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of META. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Clear Investment Research LLC raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 411.1% in the 4th quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 92 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 527.3% in the 1st 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 position in Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 122.2% during the 2nd quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 80 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $1.46 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.21. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $512.54 and its 200-day moving average is $498.54. The company has a quick ratio of 2.83, a current ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 return on equity of 34.16% and a net margin of 34.34%. The business’s revenue was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.23 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.49%.

About Meta Platforms

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.