Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) shares traded up 1.7% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $722.33 and last traded at $721.03. 4,092,727 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 72% from the average session volume of 14,449,149 shares. The stock had previously closed at $708.68.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of research analysts have issued reports on META shares. Susquehanna decreased their target price on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $700.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Raymond James Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $750.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Needham & Company LLC reiterated an "underperform" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Pivotal Research cut their price objective on Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $830.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $676.00 to $807.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. One 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $719.52.
Read Our Latest Stock Report on Meta Platforms
Meta Platforms Price Performance
The business has a fifty day moving average of $633.87 and a 200-day moving average of $625.73. The company has a current ratio of 2.66, a quick ratio of 2.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The firm has a market cap of $1.84 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.61, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.26.
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 business had revenue of $42.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $41.45 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $4.71 earnings per share. Meta Platforms's quarterly revenue was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. 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 Thursday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.29%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.19%.
Insider Activity at Meta Platforms
In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 608 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $563.03, for a total value of $342,322.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 6,230 shares in the company, valued at $3,507,676.90. This trade represents a 8.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 13,793 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $710.24, for a total value of $9,796,340.32. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 57,533 shares in the company, valued at $40,862,237.92. This trade represents a 19.34% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 124,831 shares of company stock worth $83,868,872 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.
Institutional Trading of Meta Platforms
Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in META. Valley Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Valley Financial Group Inc. now owns 588 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $344,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Lantern Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.5% during 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. 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 purchasing an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Riverwater Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Riverwater Partners LLC now owns 572 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $335,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ABLE Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. ABLE Financial Group LLC now owns 2,136 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $1,251,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.
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.
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