Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Given New $562.00 Price Target at Rosenblatt Securities

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) had its target price raised by Rosenblatt Securities from $520.00 to $562.00 in a report published on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the social networking company’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $609.00 to $600.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $385.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $580.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, thirty-eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $509.18.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

NASDAQ META opened at $441.38 on Thursday. Meta Platforms has a 1 year low of $208.88 and a 1 year high of $531.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 2.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.13 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.20. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $495.08 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $403.40.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.32 by $0.39. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.06% and a return on equity of 32.37%. The business had revenue of $36.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.28 billion. Analysts predict that Meta Platforms will post 20.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 22nd were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.45%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 11.49%.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 6,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $400.00, for a total transaction of $2,600,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 68,935 shares in the company, valued at $27,574,000. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 6,500 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $400.00, for a total transaction of $2,600,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 68,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,574,000. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 65,600 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $400.50, for a total transaction of $26,272,800.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,349,148 shares of company stock worth $649,552,559. 13.75% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Private Trust Co. NA grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.3% in the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 10,747 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $3,226,000 after purchasing an additional 339 shares during the last quarter. Wagner Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 28.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wagner Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,130 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $339,000 after acquiring an additional 247 shares in the last quarter. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 21.7% during the 3rd quarter. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 1,764 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $530,000 after acquiring an additional 315 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 11.3% during the 3rd quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 7,339 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,203,000 after acquiring an additional 748 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Richelieu Gestion SA grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 29.1% during the 3rd quarter. Richelieu Gestion SA now owns 2,595 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $779,000 after acquiring an additional 585 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.