Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Stock Price Up 0.1% - Here's Why

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) rose 0.1% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $555.30 and last traded at $550.08. Approximately 3,580,667 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 75% from the average daily volume of 14,335,775 shares. The stock had previously closed at $549.74.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on META. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $685.00 to $752.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Roth Capital reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $780.00 to $655.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $681.95.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

The stock's fifty day moving average is $583.92 and its 200-day moving average is $604.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.98 and a quick ratio of 2.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.40 trillion, a P/E ratio of 23.05, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.28.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.75 by $1.27. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.17% and a net margin of 37.91%. During the same period last year, the company posted $5.33 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.525 dividend. This is an increase from Meta Platforms's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.38%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is currently 8.78%.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $702.24, for a total transaction of $635,527.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 28,390 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,936,593.60. This trade represents a 3.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 5,060 shares of the stock in a transaction on Saturday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $736.67, for a total value of $3,727,550.20. Following the sale, the chief technology officer now owns 5,139 shares in the company, valued at $3,785,747.13. The trade was a 49.61 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 284,384 shares of company stock worth $199,598,622. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of META. Inlight Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Avondale Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by 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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