Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at DA Davidson

DA Davidson initiated coverage on shares of Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) in a research report report published on Tuesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued a buy rating and a $600.00 price objective on the social networking company’s stock.

META has been the topic of a number of other reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $522.00 to $555.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $520.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Needham & Company LLC reissued an underperform rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Roth Mkm raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $510.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, thirty-four have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $577.26.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

NASDAQ META opened at $504.79 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $505.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $494.74. Meta Platforms has a 1 year low of $279.40 and a 1 year high of $544.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.28 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a current ratio of 2.83, a quick ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.70 by $0.46. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 34.34% and a return on equity of 34.16%. The company had revenue of $39.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.26 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.23 EPS. Meta Platforms’s quarterly revenue was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms will post 21.36 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.40%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 11.49%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,950 shares of the 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 $4,714,502.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 74,579 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,285,234.04. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,950 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $526.76, for a total transaction of $4,714,502.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 74,579 shares in the company, valued at $39,285,234.04. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 33,018 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $517.94, for a total value of $17,101,342.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 373,783 shares of company stock worth $193,743,522. Corporate insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Clear Investment Research LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 411.1% in the fourth quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 92 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 527.3% in the first quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 122.2% in the 2nd quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 80 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

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.