Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) PT Raised to $655.00

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) had its target price lifted by KeyCorp from $560.00 to $655.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. KeyCorp currently has an overweight rating on the social networking company’s stock.

META has been the topic of a number of other reports. DA Davidson started coverage on Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. They issued a buy rating and a $600.00 price objective on the stock. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $615.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Roth Mkm raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $510.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $609.71.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Meta Platforms stock opened at $589.95 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $538.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $505.59. The company has a current ratio of 2.83, a quick ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. Meta Platforms has a 52 week low of $279.40 and a 52 week high of $602.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.50 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.89, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.22.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $39.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.26 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.23 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms will post 21.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.34%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is currently 11.49%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 492 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.75, for a total transaction of $295,569.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 518,508 shares in the company, valued at $311,493,681. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $501.42, for a total value of $453,785.10. Following the sale, the insider now owns 36,035 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,068,669.70. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 492 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.75, for a total value of $295,569.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 518,508 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $311,493,681. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 252,443 shares of company stock valued at $133,105,284. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 24.2% during the fourth quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 835,972 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $295,901,000 after acquiring an additional 163,067 shares during the period. Gradient Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 8.9% in the 2nd quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 72,587 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $36,600,000 after buying an additional 5,953 shares in the last quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 14.0% in the first quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 6,101,501 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,962,767,000 after buying an additional 748,076 shares during the period. ERn Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 59.0% in the first quarter. ERn Financial LLC now owns 1,652 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $802,000 after buying an additional 613 shares during the period. Finally, Stanley Laman Group Ltd. boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 26.5% during the second quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. now owns 1,678 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $846,000 after buying an additional 352 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

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.