Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report)'s stock price shot up 1.1% during trading on Tuesday after Citigroup raised their price target on the stock from $690.00 to $803.00. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the stock. Meta Platforms traded as high as $713.19 and last traded at $706.27. 4,784,171 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 67% from the average session volume of 14,461,705 shares. The stock had previously closed at $698.53.
Several other analysts have also weighed in on the company. Moffett Nathanson lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $676.00 to $807.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $664.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $735.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, Roth Capital upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $580.00 to $620.00 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 issued a hold rating, thirty-seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $712.69.
Check Out Our Latest Report on Meta Platforms
Insider Activity
In other news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 6,874 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $659.36, for a total value of $4,532,440.64. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 70,040 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $46,181,574.40. This represents a 8.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 22,449 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $636.85, for a total value of $14,296,645.65. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 1,183 shares of the company's stock, valued at $753,393.55. The trade was a 94.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 110,002 shares of company stock worth $73,353,340. Corporate insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.
Institutional Trading of Meta Platforms
A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rainier Family Wealth Inc. lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 4.7% in the first quarter. Rainier Family Wealth Inc. now owns 1,094 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $631,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 3.1% during the first quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 3,620,086 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $2,085,387,000 after purchasing an additional 107,959 shares in the last quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 5.3% in the 1st quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD now owns 75,532 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $43,533,000 after buying an additional 3,787 shares during the period. Lynx Investment Advisory boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Lynx Investment Advisory now owns 1,832 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $1,056,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Peterson Wealth Management grew its position in Meta Platforms by 40.6% during the first quarter. Peterson Wealth Management now owns 485 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $280,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.
Meta Platforms Price Performance
The company's fifty day simple moving average is $621.44 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $623.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.78 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.66 and a current ratio of 2.66.
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $42.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $41.45 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $4.71 EPS. Meta Platforms's revenue for the quarter was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.
Meta Platforms Announces Dividend
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.30%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.19%.
About Meta Platforms
(
Get Free Report)
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.
Further Reading
This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.
Before you consider Meta Platforms, you'll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Meta Platforms wasn't on the list.
While Meta Platforms currently has a Moderate Buy rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.
View The Five Stocks Here
MarketBeat just released its list of 10 cheap stocks that have been overlooked by the market and may be seriously undervalued. Enter your email address and below to see which companies made the list.
Get This Free Report
