Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) had its target price boosted by Canaccord Genuity Group from $825.00 to $850.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the social networking company's stock.
A number of other brokerages have also commented on META. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $676.00 to $807.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $600.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. JMP Securities reiterated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $750.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $812.00 price target (up previously from $683.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $736.05.
Read Our Latest Research Report on Meta Platforms
Meta Platforms Trading Down 0.2%
META traded down $1.50 on Wednesday, reaching $701.41. 11,700,697 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,419,709. The company's 50 day moving average is $681.78 and its 200-day moving average is $636.39. The company has a market cap of $1.76 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.36, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.28. Meta Platforms has a twelve month low of $442.65 and a twelve month high of $747.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.66 and a current ratio of 2.66.
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.33 by $1.10. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.69% and a net margin of 39.11%. The company had revenue of $42.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $41.45 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.71 EPS. The business's revenue was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Meta Platforms will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.
Meta Platforms Announces Dividend
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.30%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is presently 8.19%.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 2,361 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $716.48, for a total transaction of $1,691,609.28. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $717.50, for a total value of $370,947.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 6,819 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,892,632.50. This represents a 7.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 152,780 shares of company stock worth $105,009,697 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms
Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of META. Suvretta Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Suvretta Capital Management LLC now owns 170,338 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $99,735,000 after purchasing an additional 1,850 shares during the last quarter. Skye Global Management LP increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 130.9% during the fourth quarter. Skye Global Management LP now owns 76,200 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $44,616,000 after acquiring an additional 43,200 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 255.9% during the fourth quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 1,709,694 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $1,001,044,000 after acquiring an additional 1,229,350 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 25.1% during the fourth quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 368,499 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $215,760,000 after acquiring an additional 73,907 shares during the period. Finally, Arcadia Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth approximately $600,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
About Meta Platforms
(
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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.
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