Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) had its price target lifted by The Goldman Sachs Group from $500.00 to $555.00 in a report issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the social networking company's stock.
META has been the subject of a number of other research reports. KeyCorp increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $465.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Raymond James raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $450.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a strong-buy rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $425.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $420.00 to $535.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, thirty-eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $505.75.
View Our Latest Research Report on Meta Platforms
Meta Platforms Price Performance
Shares of META stock traded down $11.67 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $500.23. 13,495,154 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 17,244,633. Meta Platforms has a fifty-two week low of $207.13 and a fifty-two week high of $531.49. The firm has a market cap of $1.28 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a quick ratio of 2.67, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $491.44 and a two-hundred day moving average of $393.22.
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The social networking company reported $5.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.82 by $0.51. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 28.98% and a return on equity of 29.48%. The company had revenue of $40.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $39.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.00 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 24.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Meta Platforms will post 20.06 EPS for the current year.
Meta Platforms Announces Dividend
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 22nd were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.40%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is presently 13.42%.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 19,681 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $364.99, for a total value of $7,183,368.19. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 8,036 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $473.28, for a total value of $3,803,278.08. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 18,432 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,723,496.96. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 19,681 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $364.99, for a total value of $7,183,368.19. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,460,035 shares of company stock valued at $691,937,607. 14.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms
Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bank of Stockton lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 9.2% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Stockton now owns 4,743 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,819,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period. Signify Wealth purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth $228,000. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. now owns 10,962 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $3,880,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares during the period. Keel Point LLC boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter. Keel Point LLC now owns 6,690 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $2,008,000 after purchasing an additional 399 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Syntegra Private Wealth Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at about $269,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Meta Platforms Company Profile
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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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