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

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) has received an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the forty-four ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, thirty-seven have given a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $729.38.

A number of research analysts have issued reports on META shares. Roth Capital lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $620.00 to $740.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $600.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $735.00 to $795.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday. Wedbush increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $680.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $664.00 to $783.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $717.51 on Monday. Meta Platforms has a 12-month low of $442.65 and a 12-month high of $747.90. The company's 50 day moving average price is $674.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $634.57. The firm has a market cap of $1.80 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.98, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a quick ratio of 2.66, a current ratio of 2.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.33 by $1.10. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.69% and a net margin of 39.11%. The firm had revenue of $42.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $41.45 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.71 EPS. The company's revenue was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Meta Platforms will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Investors 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 yield of 0.29%. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is 8.19%.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $721.57, for a total value of $374,494.83. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 27,107 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,559,597.99. This trade represents a 1.88% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 2,361 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $716.48, for a total transaction of $1,691,609.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 153,184 shares of company stock valued at $105,128,004 over the last ninety days. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 34,551 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $20,230,000 after buying an additional 570 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,456 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $5,537,000 after acquiring an additional 875 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 221,459 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $129,666,000 after purchasing an additional 7,587 shares in the last quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 6,189 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $3,624,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 38.0% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 10,972 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $6,424,000 after purchasing an additional 3,019 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

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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