Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Trading 1.3% Higher - What's Next?

Key Points

• Meta Platforms shares rose by 1.3%, closing at $717.55, with a trading volume 30% lower than the average.
• Analysts have provided mostly positive ratings, with an average price target of $830.68 and several firms like Cantor Fitzgerald and UBS issuing strong buy ratings.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.525 per share, representing a 0.3% dividend yield and a payout ratio of 7.60%.

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) shares traded up 1.3% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $723.90 and last traded at $717.55. 10,169,771 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 30% from the average session volume of 14,520,812 shares. The stock had previously closed at $708.65.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $920.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $897.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $811.00 to $837.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, Wedbush lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $920.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $830.68.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.97, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The company's fifty day moving average is $749.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $680.94. The stock has a market cap of $1.80 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.20.

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

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 22nd were given a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 22nd. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is currently 7.60%.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $716.98, for a total transaction of $372,112.62. Following the sale, the insider owned 29,313 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,016,834.74. This represents a 1.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 465 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $757.47, for a total value of $352,223.55. Following the sale, the director directly owned 8,412 shares in the company, valued at $6,371,837.64. This represents a 5.24% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 212,681 shares of company stock valued at $163,863,761. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of META. Csenge Advisory Group boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 12.0% in the first quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 9,539 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $5,498,000 after acquiring an additional 1,019 shares in the last quarter. ARQ Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 4.5% in the first quarter. ARQ Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 785 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $452,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. JMG Financial Group Ltd. acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the first quarter valued at $284,000. Infusive Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 10.7% in the first quarter. Infusive Asset Management Inc. now owns 23,620 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $13,614,000 after acquiring an additional 2,285 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Spirepoint Private Client LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 2.7% in the second quarter. Spirepoint Private Client LLC now owns 4,080 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $3,011,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.

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