Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Price Target Increased to $663.00 by Analysts at Stifel Nicolaus

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) had its price target hoisted by Stifel Nicolaus from $590.00 to $663.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the social networking company’s stock.

META has been the subject of several other reports. UBS Group upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $635.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Truist Financial upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $570.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Raymond James upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a strong-buy rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Bank of America upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $563.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an outperform rating and issued a $570.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $613.46.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 0.1 %

Meta Platforms stock opened at $590.42 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $540.41 and a 200 day moving average of $506.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.50 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.22. Meta Platforms has a 12-month low of $279.40 and a 12-month high of $602.95. 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 (NASDAQ:META) last released its 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. The company had revenue of $39.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.26 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 34.34% and a return on equity of 34.16%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.23 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Meta Platforms will post 21.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 412 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $474.86, for a total transaction of $195,642.32. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 5,971 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,835,389.06. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $489.80, for a total transaction of $443,269.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 35,130 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,206,674. 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 is available through this link. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 412 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $474.86, for a total value of $195,642.32. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 5,971 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,835,389.06. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 249,826 shares of company stock worth $131,791,613. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. Central Valley Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.3% in the third quarter. Central Valley Advisors LLC now owns 5,714 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $3,271,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Cherrydale Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. 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 acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Front Row Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 5.7% in the second quarter. Front Row Advisors LLC now owns 371 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $187,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Merrion Investment Management Co LLC boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.8% in the third quarter. Merrion Investment Management Co LLC now owns 1,145 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $655,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

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.