Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Given New $590.00 Price Target at Stifel Nicolaus

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) had its price target hoisted by Stifel Nicolaus from $550.00 to $590.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the social networking company’s stock.

META has been the subject of several other research reports. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their target price on Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $575.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Susquehanna raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a positive rating in a research report on Thursday. KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $475.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $500.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, thirty-three have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $571.84.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 1.9 %

NASDAQ:META traded down $9.60 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $488.14. 22,851,629 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 16,412,488. Meta Platforms has a 12-month low of $274.38 and a 12-month high of $542.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.68 and a quick ratio of 2.68. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $493.89 and a 200-day moving average price of $477.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.24 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.79, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.21.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.70 by $0.46. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 34.63% and a net margin of 34.34%. The company had revenue of $39.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.23 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Meta Platforms will post 20.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.41%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,951 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $471.85, for a total transaction of $4,223,529.35. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 74,580 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,190,573. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,951 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $471.85, for a total transaction of $4,223,529.35. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 74,580 shares in the company, valued at $35,190,573. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 576 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $466.33, for a total value of $268,606.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 36,067 shares in the company, valued at $16,819,124.11. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 310,685 shares of company stock valued at $154,398,206. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. S.A. Mason LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. S.A. Mason LLC now owns 1,328 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $645,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 2.0% during the first quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN now owns 1,057 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $513,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Northern Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Northern Capital Management Inc. now owns 647 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $314,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the period. Buckingham Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 5.1% in the 2nd quarter. Buckingham Capital Management Inc. now owns 433 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $218,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LongView Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. LongView Wealth Management now owns 1,762 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $856,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.