Citigroup Increases Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Price Target to $580.00

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) had its target price hoisted by Citigroup from $550.00 to $580.00 in a research report report published on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the social networking company’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on META. Wedbush reaffirmed an outperform rating and set a $570.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price target 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. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. They issued an outperform rating and a $620.00 price target for the company. JMP Securities reiterated a market outperform rating and issued a $525.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $522.00 to $555.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Thursday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, thirty-three have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $571.84.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

NASDAQ:META opened at $488.14 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $494.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $479.09. The firm has a market cap of $1.24 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.04, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.21. Meta Platforms has a 52-week low of $274.38 and a 52-week high of $542.81. The company has a quick ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.70 by $0.46. The firm had revenue of $39.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.26 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 34.16% and a net margin of 34.34%. Meta Platforms’s revenue was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.23 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Meta Platforms will post 20.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 576 shares of Meta Platforms 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 36,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,819,124.11. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 412 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $463.00, for a total value of $190,756.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 5,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,573,817. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 576 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $466.33, for a total value of $268,606.08. Following the sale, the insider now owns 36,067 shares in the company, valued at $16,819,124.11. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 310,685 shares of company stock valued at $154,398,206 in the last three months. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Meta Platforms

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Clear Investment Research LLC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 411.1% during the fourth quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 92 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 527.3% during the first 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 during the period. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 80.4% during the fourth 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 period. Finally, POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter valued at $38,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Company Profile

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.