KeyCorp Raises Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Price Target to $800.00

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) had its price objective raised by KeyCorp from $655.00 to $800.00 in a research report released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the social networking company's stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Susquehanna cut their price target on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $700.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $685.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. TD Securities decreased their target price on Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $700.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Moffett Nathanson lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $615.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Meta Platforms has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $736.05.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META traded down $1.50 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $701.41. The company had a trading volume of 11,776,575 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,365,357. Meta Platforms has a 52-week low of $442.65 and a 52-week high of $747.90. The company has a quick ratio of 2.66, a current ratio of 2.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.76 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.36, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.28. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $683.85 and a two-hundred day moving average of $637.15.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $42.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $41.45 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $4.71 earnings per share. Meta Platforms's revenue for the quarter was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect 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. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were given a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.30%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.19%.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 465 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $723.08, for a total transaction of $336,232.20. Following the sale, the director directly owned 9,342 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,755,013.36. This trade represents a 4.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 153,764 shares of company stock valued at $105,721,208 in the last ninety days. 13.61% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Suvretta Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Suvretta Capital Management LLC now owns 170,338 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $99,735,000 after acquiring an additional 1,850 shares during the last quarter. Skye Global Management LP boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 130.9% in the 4th quarter. Skye Global Management LP now owns 76,200 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $44,616,000 after purchasing an additional 43,200 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 255.9% during the 4th 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 buying an additional 1,229,350 shares during the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 25.1% during the 4th quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 368,499 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $215,760,000 after buying an additional 73,907 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arcadia Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth about $600,000. Institutional investors 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.