Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Trading 1.5% Higher - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Meta Platforms' shares increased by 1.5% to trade at $715.70, with a notable drop in trading volume.
• Analysts have raised their price targets for Meta, with estimates ranging from $800.00 to $900.00 and a consensus price target of $830.68, indicating strong buy interest.
• The company reported a 21.6% increase in quarterly revenue year-over-year, reaching $47.52 billion, while earnings per share soared to $7.14, exceeding estimates.

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) shares traded up 1.5% during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $719.94 and last traded at $715.70. 9,211,270 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 37% from the average session volume of 14,574,223 shares. The stock had previously closed at $705.30.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $740.00 to $840.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and set a $800.00 price objective (up from $725.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, July 28th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $775.00 to $900.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Citizens Jmp increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $900.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $830.68.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 1.5%

The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $752.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $679.78. The company has a quick ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The firm has a market cap of $1.80 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.20.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $47.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $44.55 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 39.33% and a net margin of 39.99%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.16 earnings per share. Meta Platforms has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. Analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 465 shares of the firm'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 transaction, the director directly owned 8,412 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,371,837.64. This trade represents a 5.24% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $704.81, for a total value of $364,386.77. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 9,509 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,702,038.29. This represents a 5.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 213,665 shares of company stock worth $164,575,272 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Meta Platforms

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. F&V Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.3% during the third quarter. F&V Capital Management LLC now owns 29,311 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $21,525,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the period. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA now owns 9,700 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $7,123,000 after acquiring an additional 374 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Enterprises LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Diversified Enterprises LLC now owns 4,585 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $3,367,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Navigoe LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Navigoe LLC now owns 2,168 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,592,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Warburton Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 9.1% in the 3rd quarter. Warburton Capital Management LLC now owns 926 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $664,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. 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.

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.