Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Stock Price Up 0.1% on Analyst Upgrade

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)’s share price rose 0.1% during trading on Tuesday after Raymond James raised their price target on the stock from $550.00 to $600.00. Raymond James currently has a strong-buy rating on the stock. Meta Platforms traded as high as $505.00 and last traded at $505.00. Approximately 1,602,615 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 90% from the average daily volume of 16,278,534 shares. The stock had previously closed at $504.68.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on META. Rosenblatt Securities increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $520.00 to $562.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $609.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Guggenheim decreased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $520.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. They set an “underperform” rating and a $360.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $550.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, thirty-seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $511.27.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $522.00, for a total transaction of $305,370.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 38,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,043,756. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 490 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $441.54, for a total transaction of $216,354.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 6,599 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,913,722.46. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $522.00, for a total value of $305,370.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 38,398 shares in the company, valued at $20,043,756. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 218,086 shares of company stock valued at $106,423,370. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of META. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 68.9% during the 3rd quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 103 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Clear Investment Research LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 411.1% in the 4th quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 92 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 527.3% in the 1st quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 80.4% during the 4th quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC now owns 101 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 2.68 and a current ratio of 2.68. The company has a market cap of $1.28 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.01, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.21. The business’s 50-day moving average is $480.46 and its 200 day moving average is $456.83.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.32 by $0.39. The firm had revenue of $36.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.28 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 32.03% and a net margin of 32.06%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.40%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is currently 11.49%.

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.