Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Price Target Raised to $605.00 at Robert W. Baird

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) had its price target boosted by Robert W. Baird from $530.00 to $605.00 in a report released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. Robert W. Baird currently has an outperform rating on the social networking company’s stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Roth Mkm upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $510.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $535.00 to $570.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Benchmark reissued a hold rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Guggenheim upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $500.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Two 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 issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $591.23.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

META opened at $567.84 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $514.38 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $499.02. 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 $1.44 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.21. Meta Platforms has a 52-week low of $279.40 and a 52-week high of $577.40.

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 the consensus estimate of $4.70 by $0.46. The company 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%. The firm’s quarterly 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, analysts predict that Meta Platforms will post 21.36 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.35%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.49%.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 328,662 shares in the company, valued at $187,314,333.66. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $569.93, for a total value of $5,699,300.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 328,662 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $187,314,333.66. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 33,018 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $517.94, for a total transaction of $17,101,342.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 342,358 shares of company stock valued at $179,431,101. 13.71% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. S.A. Mason LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.5% during the first quarter. S.A. Mason LLC now owns 1,328 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $645,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Front Row Advisors LLC grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 5.7% in the 2nd quarter. Front Row Advisors LLC now owns 371 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $187,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.0% during the first quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN now owns 1,057 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $513,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Northern Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.4% in the first quarter. Northern Capital Management Inc. now owns 647 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $314,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. Finally, Buckingham Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 5.1% in the second quarter. Buckingham Capital Management Inc. now owns 433 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $218,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.