Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Trading Up 1.6% - Here's What Happened

Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) were up 1.6% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $702.81 and last traded at $695.60. Approximately 4,302,861 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 70% from the average daily volume of 14,467,279 shares. The stock had previously closed at $684.62.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

META has been the topic of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $740.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. KeyCorp raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $645.00 to $655.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Scotiabank cut their target price on Meta Platforms from $627.00 to $525.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Roth Capital increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $580.00 to $620.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $683.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $702.48.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 1.9%

The company's 50 day moving average is $587.67 and its 200 day moving average is $614.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a current ratio of 2.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.75 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.17, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.26.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.33 by $1.10. The firm had revenue of $42.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $41.45 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.17% and a net margin of 37.91%. Meta Platforms's quarterly revenue was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $4.71 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast 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 Thursday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.19%.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 608 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $609.00, for a total transaction of $370,272.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 8,054 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,904,886. This represents a 7.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $595.00, for a total value of $547,995.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 33,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,649,280. This represents a 2.71% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 56,171 shares of company stock valued at $35,163,457 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at about $19,949,512,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 67,172.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 23,452,665 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $13,517,178,000 after acquiring an additional 23,417,803 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 78,471.1% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,248,763 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $3,658,713,000 after purchasing an additional 6,240,810 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the first quarter worth $2,990,544,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth $2,243,603,000. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

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.