Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Given Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Meta Platforms, Inc. has received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from 46 analysts, with an average 12-month price target of $822.41.
• CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 15,847 shares for approximately $11.94 million, while insider Christopher K. Cox sold 60,000 shares worth around $46.56 million, indicating significant insider activity.
• In its most recent quarterly earnings report, Meta announced earnings of $7.14 per share, surpassing estimates and reflecting a revenue growth of 21.6% compared to the previous year.

Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the forty-six ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, thirty-nine have assigned a buy recommendation and three have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $822.4091.

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on META shares. Susquehanna cut their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $700.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Wedbush upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $920.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. KeyCorp lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $905.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. HSBC raised Meta Platforms from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $610.00 to $900.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $780.00 to $860.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st.

Insider Activity

In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 15,847 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $753.43, for a total transaction of $11,939,605.21. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 60,000 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $775.95, for a total value of $46,557,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 237,205 shares of the company's stock, valued at $184,059,219.75. This represents a 20.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 260,024 shares of company stock valued at $188,466,159. 13.61% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Inlight Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 237.5% in the second quarter. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC now owns 54 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Briaud Financial Planning Inc acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the second quarter valued at approximately $42,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of META opened at $761.83 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.92 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.27. Meta Platforms has a 1 year low of $479.80 and a 1 year high of $784.75. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $711.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $649.96. The company has a current ratio of 1.97, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The social networking company reported $7.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.75 by $1.39. The business had revenue of $47.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $44.55 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 39.99% and a return on equity of 39.33%. Meta Platforms's quarterly revenue was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.16 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Meta Platforms will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were given a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is presently 7.60%.

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.

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