Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Trading 1.5% Higher - Here's Why

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report)'s stock price shot up 1.5% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $689.88 and last traded at $692.55. 3,190,238 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 78% from the average session volume of 14,468,557 shares. The stock had previously closed at $682.35.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

META has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $664.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. Roth Capital lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $580.00 to $620.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $628.00 to $655.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $600.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on Meta Platforms from $705.00 to $640.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $715.76.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.66 and a quick ratio of 2.66. The business has a 50-day moving average of $629.38 and a 200-day moving average of $624.96. The company has a market capitalization of $1.83 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.26.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.33 by $1.10. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 39.11% and a return on equity of 38.69%. The firm had revenue of $42.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $41.45 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $4.71 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.29%. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is 8.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Meta Platforms news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 5,057 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $659.36, for a total value of $3,334,383.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 16,463 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,855,043.68. The trade was a 23.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 6,874 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $659.36, for a total transaction of $4,532,440.64. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 70,040 shares in the company, valued at approximately $46,181,574.40. This trade represents a 8.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 124,831 shares of company stock valued at $83,868,872. Insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 191,198,005 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $111,948,344,000 after acquiring an additional 1,502,553 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 49,181,127 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $28,719,970,000 after purchasing an additional 1,020,519 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 42,317,434 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $24,777,282,000 after purchasing an additional 1,049,121 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 40,317,105 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $23,606,338,000 after purchasing an additional 1,141,355 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at about $19,949,512,000. 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.