Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Reaches New 12-Month High on Analyst Upgrade

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday after Rosenblatt Securities raised their price target on the stock from $643.00 to $811.00. Rosenblatt Securities currently has a buy rating on the stock. Meta Platforms traded as high as $577.50 and last traded at $577.50, with a volume of 266680 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $568.31.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on META. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $630.00 to $635.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $570.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, August 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $522.00 to $555.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $660.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $600.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, thirty-four have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $591.23.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 5,057 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $526.76, for a total transaction of $2,663,825.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now owns 11,990 shares in the company, valued at $6,315,852.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 5,057 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $526.76, for a total transaction of $2,663,825.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now owns 11,990 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,315,852.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,950 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $526.76, for a total value of $4,714,502.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 74,579 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,285,234.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 342,358 shares of company stock worth $179,431,101. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms by 527.3% during the 1st quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter worth about $38,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in Meta Platforms by 122.2% during the 2nd quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 80 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 95.6% during the 1st quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 88 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 2.83, a quick ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.44 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.59, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.21. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $516.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $499.60.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.70 by $0.46. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 34.16% and a net margin of 34.34%. The firm had revenue of $39.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.26 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.23 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 11.49%.

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.