Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report)'s share price was up 0.4% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $602.50 and last traded at $599.41. Approximately 4,630,220 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 68% from the average daily volume of 14,418,611 shares. The stock had previously closed at $597.02.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $740.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Tigress Financial reissued a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Pivotal Research decreased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $830.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Arete Research upgraded shares of Meta Platforms to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective 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 investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $696.45.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on Meta Platforms
Meta Platforms Price Performance
The company's 50-day simple moving average is $570.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $603.99. The company has a quick ratio of 2.98, a current ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.51 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.24.
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.33 by $1.10. The business 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 in the prior year, the firm posted $4.71 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.
Meta Platforms Increases Dividend
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.525 per share. This is a positive change from Meta Platforms's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is presently 8.19%.
Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms
In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $545.17, for a total transaction of $502,101.57. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 26,577 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,488,983.09. This trade represents a 3.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 4,706 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Saturday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $736.67, for a total transaction of $3,466,769.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 20,935 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,422,186.45. The trade was a 18.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 210,357 shares of company stock valued at $148,449,468. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company's stock.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms
Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Valley Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Valley Financial Group Inc. now owns 588 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $344,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares during the period. Lantern Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Lantern Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,976 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,743,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC now owns 1,640 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $960,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Meredith Wealth Planning increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Meredith Wealth Planning now owns 1,873 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,097,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. Finally, Maiden Cove Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Maiden Cove Capital LLC now owns 481 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $282,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.
About Meta Platforms
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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.
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