Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Trading Up 1% – Here’s What Happened

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) shares traded up 1% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $572.59 and last traded at $564.72. 3,599,647 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 76% from the average session volume of 14,921,218 shares. The stock had previously closed at $559.14.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on META. Evercore ISI lifted their price target 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. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Loop Capital lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $665.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $570.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $634.71.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 2.73 and a quick ratio of 2.73. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $572.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $524.71. The stock has a market cap of $1.43 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.60, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.22.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.19 by $0.84. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 35.55% and a return on equity of 35.60%. The firm had revenue of $40.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $40.21 billion. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.62 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. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were issued 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 yield of 0.35%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.42%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, CAO Aaron Anderson sold 731 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $557.00, for a total value of $407,167.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,414 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,901,598. This represents a 17.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 620 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $557.00, for a total transaction of $345,340.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 19,992 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,135,544. This trade represents a 3.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 152,141 shares of company stock valued at $83,390,497. Insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of META. Synovus Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 10.8% in the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 72,243 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $41,356,000 after acquiring an additional 7,053 shares in the last quarter. Castellan Group acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,030,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 201.2% in the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 31,212 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $17,867,000 after purchasing an additional 20,849 shares in the last quarter. Arvest Bank Trust Division purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter valued at about $804,000. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 239.9% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 64,960 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $37,186,000 after acquiring an additional 45,846 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.