Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Shares Up 2.5% on Analyst Upgrade

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)’s stock price shot up 2.5% on Thursday after JMP Securities raised their price target on the stock from $660.00 to $750.00. JMP Securities currently has a market outperform rating on the stock. Meta Platforms traded as high as $604.91 and last traded at $600.13. 3,935,484 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 73% from the average session volume of 14,682,313 shares. The stock had previously closed at $585.51.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on META. Susquehanna increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Guggenheim raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $665.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. DA Davidson initiated coverage on Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $630.00 to $660.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $605.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $640.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Nicholas Clegg sold 7,296 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $553.48, for a total value of $4,038,190.08. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 38,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,416,908.60. This trade represents a 15.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 35,921 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $633.25, for a total transaction of $22,746,973.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 327,116 shares of company stock worth $198,171,544 in the last 90 days. 13.71% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 563 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $330,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Old Port Advisors lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Old Port Advisors now owns 3,116 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,825,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Independent Solutions Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 11.6% during the 3rd quarter. Independent Solutions Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,908 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $5,099,000 after purchasing an additional 928 shares in the last quarter. SMART Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 53.7% during the third quarter. SMART Wealth LLC now owns 1,374 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $787,000 after buying an additional 480 shares during the period. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.0% in the third quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 613,015 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $350,914,000 after buying an additional 6,249 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 2.3 %

The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $588.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $547.83. The company has a quick ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 2.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.51 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.20.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.19 by $0.84. The company had revenue of $40.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $40.21 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 35.60% and a net margin of 35.55%. Analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.33%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.42%.

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.