Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META – Get Free Report) traded up 0.6% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $496.70 and last traded at $496.64. 2,894,023 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 83% from the average session volume of 16,907,582 shares. The stock had previously closed at $493.76.
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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
META has been the subject of several research reports. Tigress Financial raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $435.00 to $575.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Roth Mkm raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $500.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Meta Platforms from $535.00 to $480.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Wolfe Research lowered their price target on Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $527.00 to $588.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Two research 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 given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $510.41.
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Meta Platforms Stock Performance
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 firm’s 50-day moving average price is $480.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $434.68. The stock has a market cap of $1.26 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.53, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.21.
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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. Sell-side analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Meta Platforms Announces Dividend
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.40%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.49%.
Insider Activity at Meta Platforms
In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 38,398 shares in the company, valued at $20,043,756. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $522.00, for a total transaction of $305,370.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 38,398 shares in the company, valued at $20,043,756. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Sheryl Sandberg sold 105,000 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $476.71, for a total value of $50,054,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 630,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $300,466,976.03. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 604,890 shares of company stock valued at $297,429,900. 13.71% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms
A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 3,576,285 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,265,862,000 after acquiring an additional 51,900 shares during the period. Donoghue Forlines LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 94.4% in the fourth quarter. Donoghue Forlines LLC now owns 8,349 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,955,000 after purchasing an additional 4,054 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 451,581 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $159,841,000 after purchasing an additional 32,423 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 400.0% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. now owns 2,500 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $885,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Stockton lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 9.2% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Stockton now owns 4,743 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,819,000 after buying an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
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.
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