Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Trading 0.9% Higher Following Analyst Upgrade

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) was up 0.9% during trading on Tuesday 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 $583.04 and last traded at $577.72. Approximately 5,722,944 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 63% from the average daily volume of 15,548,877 shares. The stock had previously closed at $572.44.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on META. DA Davidson assumed coverage on Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $600.00 target price for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $522.00 to $555.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $625.00 to $647.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Two research 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $597.95.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $509.10, for a total transaction of $8,502,988.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 186,826 shares in the company, valued at approximately $95,113,116.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $509.10, for a total value of $8,502,988.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 186,826 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $95,113,116.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 412 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $512.00, for a total transaction of $210,944.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 6,795 shares in the company, valued at $3,479,040. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 324,751 shares of company stock valued at $170,575,643 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Meta Platforms

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of META. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 8.9% during the 3rd quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 524 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $300,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc. increased its position in Meta Platforms by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc. now owns 26,558 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $15,203,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the period. Mattson Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $3,768,000. Sage Advisors LLC raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 10.0% during the 2nd quarter. Sage Advisors LLC now owns 2,038 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,028,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Greater Midwest Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the second quarter worth $2,925,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $1.47 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.21. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $517.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $500.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.83 and a quick ratio of 2.83.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly 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. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 34.34% and a return on equity of 34.16%. The firm had revenue of $39.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.26 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.23 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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 $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.