JMP Securities Increases Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Price Target to $635.00

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) had its price objective hoisted by JMP Securities from $550.00 to $635.00 in a research note released on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. JMP Securities currently has a market outperform rating on the social networking company’s stock.

META has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Wedbush restated an outperform rating and issued a $570.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. 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 note on Thursday, August 1st. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $562.00 to $643.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an outperform rating and set a $570.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $580.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Monday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, thirty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $591.23.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META stock opened at $567.84 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.83 and a quick ratio of 2.83. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $514.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $499.02. The firm 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 12 month low of $279.40 and a 12 month high of $577.40.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.70 by $0.46. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 34.16% and a net margin of 34.34%. The firm had revenue of $39.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.23 earnings per share. Meta Platforms’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms 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. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other news, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 10,000 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $569.93, for a total transaction of $5,699,300.00. Following the sale, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 901 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $451.15, for a total value of $406,486.15. Following the sale, the insider now owns 33,324 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,034,122.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $569.93, for a total transaction 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 342,358 shares of company stock valued at $179,431,101 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Clear Investment Research LLC boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 411.1% in the fourth quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 92 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position 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 buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the second quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 122.2% during the second quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 80 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.