Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Wedbush Analyst Says

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) had its target price boosted by Wedbush from $680.00 to $750.00 in a report issued on Thursday, Marketbeat reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the social networking company's stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $846.00 to $918.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Mizuho lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $786.00 to $650.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Argus set a $775.00 target price on Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. One 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $696.45.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ META traded up $24.81 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $597.02. The company had a trading volume of 24,702,127 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,463,489. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $575.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $603.62. The stock has a market cap of $1.51 trillion, a PE ratio of 24.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a current ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Meta Platforms has a 1-year low of $442.65 and a 1-year high of $740.91.

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

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 902 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $713.32, for a total value of $643,414.64. Following the sale, the insider now owns 27,488 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,607,740.16. The trade was a 3.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 406 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $491.69, for a total transaction of $199,626.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 4,608 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,265,707.52. This trade represents a 8.10 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 237,017 shares of company stock valued at $167,207,524. 13.71% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Inlight Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the first quarter valued at $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. Avondale Wealth Management bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth approximately $43,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.