Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Stock Price Up 1.4%

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) shares shot up 1.4% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $526.30 and last traded at $523.40. Approximately 3,810,057 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 77% from the average daily volume of 16,360,795 shares. The stock had previously closed at $515.95.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Raymond James boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 1st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $625.00 to $647.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, TD Securities upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $600.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, thirty-three have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $572.51.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 0.3 %

The business’s 50 day moving average is $498.92 and its 200 day moving average is $485.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 2.68 and a current ratio of 2.83. The stock has a market cap of $1.34 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.21.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.70 by $0.46. The business had revenue of $39.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.23 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.38%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is 11.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Meta Platforms news, Director Sheryl Sandberg sold 105,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $476.71, for a total value of $50,054,550.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 630,293 shares in the company, valued at approximately $300,466,976.03. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Meta Platforms news, Director Sheryl Sandberg sold 105,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now owns 630,293 shares in the company, valued at $300,466,976.03. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $467.57, for a total value of $423,150.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 43,275 shares in the company, valued at $20,234,091.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 349,174 shares of company stock worth $175,146,777. 13.71% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Meta Platforms

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. S.A. Mason LLC boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.5% in the first quarter. S.A. Mason LLC now owns 1,328 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $645,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.0% during the 1st 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. raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Northern Capital Management Inc. now owns 647 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $314,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Buckingham Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hanson & Doremus Investment Management boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 5.3% during the first quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 435 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $211,000 after purchasing an additional 22 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.