Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Receives $634.10 Consensus Target Price from Brokerages

Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the forty-three ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have issued a hold recommendation, thirty-five have given a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $634.10.

META has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Meta Platforms from $652.00 to $641.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Pivotal Research upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $780.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Meta Platforms to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Raymond James upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $507.63, for a total transaction of $459,405.15. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 37,817 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,197,043.71. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $507.63, for a total transaction of $459,405.15. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 37,817 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,197,043.71. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $514.89, for a total value of $8,599,692.78. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 89,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,302,513.03. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 228,118 shares of company stock valued at $121,237,935 in the last three months. Insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Meta Platforms

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 8.2% during the 3rd quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 677,012 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $387,549,000 after purchasing an additional 51,222 shares during the period. King Luther Capital Management Corp boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 17.9% during the 3rd quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 117,516 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $67,271,000 after purchasing an additional 17,883 shares during the period. Cornerstone Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Advisors LLC now owns 87,800 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $50,260,000 after purchasing an additional 1,700 shares during the period. Moran Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC now owns 29,908 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $17,121,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the period. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 33,648 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $19,261,000 after purchasing an additional 397 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

META stock opened at $589.34 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 2.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. Meta Platforms has a 52-week low of $313.66 and a 52-week high of $602.95. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $560.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $515.25. The company has a market capitalization of $1.49 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.22.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.19 by $0.84. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 35.60% and a net margin of 35.55%. The company had revenue of $40.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $40.21 billion. Analysts predict that Meta Platforms will post 22.53 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.34%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is currently 9.42%.

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.