Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Price Target Raised to $650.00

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) had its price target boosted by Mizuho from $600.00 to $650.00 in a research report released on Thursday, Marketbeat reports. Mizuho currently has an outperform rating on the social networking company’s stock.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on META. Loop Capital raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $565.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $605.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. TD Securities lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $600.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $563.00 to $630.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $617.37.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $576.47 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.46 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.11, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.83 and a quick ratio of 2.83. Meta Platforms has a 1-year low of $279.40 and a 1-year high of $602.95. The business has a 50-day moving average of $546.53 and a 200-day moving average of $508.77.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.70 by $0.46. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 34.34% and a return on equity of 34.16%. The firm had revenue of $39.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.26 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.23 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms will post 21.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.35%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 11.49%.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 901 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $451.15, for a total value of $406,486.15. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,324 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,034,122.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 901 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $451.15, for a total value of $406,486.15. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 33,324 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,034,122.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 150 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.49, for a total transaction of $75,073.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 124,387 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $62,254,449.63. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 250,816 shares of company stock valued at $132,421,828 over the last 90 days. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Central Valley Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Central Valley Advisors LLC now owns 5,714 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $3,271,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. Cherrydale Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.5% in the third quarter. Cherrydale Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,841 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,199,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the period. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.7% in the third quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,787 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,595,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the period. Kozak & Associates Inc. increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.0% in the third quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. now owns 1,906 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,099,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.8% during the third quarter. Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,075 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $615,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.