Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Shares Up 0.5% - Still a Buy?

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) was up 0.5% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $611.30 and last traded at $599.60. Approximately 4,232,081 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 71% from the average daily volume of 14,396,687 shares. The stock had previously closed at $596.81.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on Meta Platforms from $627.00 to $525.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. Wedbush raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $680.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $600.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $665.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $615.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $696.45.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $1.50 trillion, a PE ratio of 24.77, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.24. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $568.87 and a two-hundred day moving average of $604.50. The company has a quick ratio of 2.98, a current ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.33 by $1.10. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 37.91% and a return on equity of 38.17%. The firm had revenue of $42.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $41.45 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $4.71 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. This is a positive change from Meta Platforms's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is presently 8.19%.

Insider Activity

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $592.52, for a total value of $545,710.92. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 25,656 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,201,693.12. This trade represents a 3.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 608 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $592.00, for a total value of $359,936.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 3,190 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,888,480. This trade represents a 16.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 155,689 shares of company stock worth $109,097,842 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Meta Platforms

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth approximately $19,949,512,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 67,172.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 23,452,665 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $13,517,178,000 after purchasing an additional 23,417,803 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 78,471.1% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,248,763 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $3,658,713,000 after buying an additional 6,240,810 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,243,603,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 13.5% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 23,445,565 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $13,727,613,000 after buying an additional 2,787,832 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.