Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Shares Up 1.9% - Here's Why

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) shares traded up 1.9% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $494.54 and last traded at $494.01. 4,034,798 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 73% from the average session volume of 14,754,425 shares. The stock had previously closed at $484.66.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $790.00 to $624.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $685.00 to $752.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Raymond James reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating and set a $800.00 target price (up from $725.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $630.00 to $705.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on Meta Platforms from $780.00 to $655.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $679.02.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.98 and a quick ratio of 2.98. The stock has a market cap of $1.39 trillion, a PE ratio of 22.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.28. The stock's fifty day moving average is $587.00 and its 200-day moving average is $604.44.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $6.75 by $1.27. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.17% and a net margin of 37.91%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $5.33 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Meta Platforms's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.38%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is 8.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $491.87, for a total value of $453,012.27. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 27,498 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,525,441.26. This represents a 3.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $627.59, for a total transaction of $259,194.67. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 15,862 shares in the company, valued at $9,954,832.58. This represents a 2.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 308,068 shares of company stock valued at $214,968,924 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Meta Platforms

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in META. Howard Capital Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 17.9% during the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 1,652 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $946,000 after purchasing an additional 251 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,368,361 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $1,928,185,000 after buying an additional 204,412 shares in the last quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 9.1% during the 3rd quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 3,219 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $1,842,000 after purchasing an additional 269 shares in the last quarter. Aldebaran Financial Inc. increased its position in Meta Platforms by 10.2% during the third quarter. Aldebaran Financial Inc. now owns 2,853 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $1,633,000 after buying an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 9.5% during the 3rd quarter. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd now owns 17,048 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $9,704,000 after purchasing an additional 1,480 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.