Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Shares Up 2.1% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Meta Platforms' stock increased by 2.1%, reaching $732.17 after trading as high as $733.77, despite a significant decline in trading volume compared to average levels.
• A number of analysts raised their price targets for Meta, with projections ranging from $825.00 to $900.00, reflecting a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from research firms.
• Meta reported earnings of $7.14 per share, exceeding analyst expectations, with a net margin of 39.99% and revenue of $47.52 billion, marking a 21.6% increase from the previous year.

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) shot up 2.1% on Monday . The company traded as high as $733.77 and last traded at $732.17. 8,855,841 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 39% from the average session volume of 14,455,857 shares. The stock had previously closed at $716.91.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on META. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $775.00 to $900.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Meta Platforms from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Raymond James Financial raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $780.00 to $860.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $825.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $829.66.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 2.1%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a current ratio of 1.97. The company has a market cap of $1.84 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.20. The stock's fifty day moving average is $746.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $684.78.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The social networking company reported $7.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.75 by $1.39. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 39.99% and a return on equity of 39.33%. The company had revenue of $47.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $44.55 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $5.16 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Meta Platforms has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 29th. Investors of record on Monday, September 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 22nd. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is 7.60%.

Insider Activity

In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 15,847 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $769.38, for a total value of $12,192,364.86. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 60,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $775.95, for a total transaction of $46,557,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 237,205 shares in the company, valued at approximately $184,059,219.75. The trade was a 20.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 213,665 shares of company stock valued at $164,568,109 in the last three months. 13.61% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. Csenge Advisory Group raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 12.0% in the first quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 9,539 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $5,498,000 after purchasing an additional 1,019 shares during the period. ARQ Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.5% in the first quarter. ARQ Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 785 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $452,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. JMG Financial Group Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the first quarter valued at approximately $284,000. Infusive Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 10.7% in the first quarter. Infusive Asset Management Inc. now owns 23,620 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $13,614,000 after purchasing an additional 2,285 shares during the period. Finally, Spirepoint Private Client LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.7% in the second quarter. Spirepoint Private Client LLC now owns 4,080 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $3,011,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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