Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Trading 1.1% Higher - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Meta Platforms' stock rose 1.1% during mid-day trading, reaching a last traded price of $760.60, despite a 77% decline in trading volume compared to the daily average.
• Several analysts upgraded their target prices for Meta, with Bank of America setting a new target of $900.00 and three analysts giving a Strong Buy rating.
• The company's quarterly earnings report revealed $7.14 earnings per share, significantly surpassing expected earnings and showing a 21.6% increase in revenue year-over-year.

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) was up 1.1% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $763.83 and last traded at $760.60. Approximately 3,443,318 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 77% from the average daily volume of 14,798,420 shares. The stock had previously closed at $752.30.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on META shares. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $775.00 to $870.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $775.00 to $900.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $800.00 target price (up from $725.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Meta Platforms from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $822.41.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $1.90 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.24. The firm's fifty day moving average is $741.83 and its 200 day moving average is $661.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.97, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

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

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 11,694 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $775.00, for a total transaction of $9,062,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer owned 1,799 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,394,225. This represents a 86.67% 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, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $755.65, for a total transaction of $390,671.05. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 11,577 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,748,160.05. The trade was a 4.27% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 283,280 shares of company stock worth $214,119,908 in the last quarter. 13.61% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Bare Financial Services Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the second quarter worth $30,000. Inlight Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 237.5% in the second quarter. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC now owns 54 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Finally, MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the first quarter valued at about $33,000. Hedge funds and other 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.