Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) rose 0.4% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $474.47 and last traded at $474.28. 2,969,569 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 18,051,848 shares. The stock had previously closed at $472.60.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on META shares. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $575.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Raymond James lowered their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $525.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $550.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $545.00 price objective (down from $600.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Wolfe Research reduced their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, thirty-seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $509.80.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 0.6 %

The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $489.80 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $412.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.21 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.24, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 2.68 and a current ratio of 2.68.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.32 by $0.39. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 32.03% and a net margin of 32.06%. The firm had revenue of $36.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.28 billion. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 97,093 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $469.67, for a total transaction of $45,601,669.31. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $522.00, for a total transaction of $305,370.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 38,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,043,756. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 97,093 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $469.67, for a total value of $45,601,669.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 1,223,416 shares of company stock valued at $597,392,856. Insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Stone House Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 625.0% during the 3rd quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 87 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 68.9% during the third quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 103 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. PayPay Securities Corp raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 65.2% in the 3rd quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 109 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clear Investment Research LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms by 411.1% during the 4th quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 92 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 74 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.