Robert W. Baird Trims Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Target Price to $500.00

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) had its price target decreased by Robert W. Baird from $525.00 to $500.00 in a research report report published on Thursday, Benzinga reports. Robert W. Baird currently has an outperform rating on the social networking company’s stock.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $425.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $580.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Meta Platforms from $609.00 to $600.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a market outperform rating and issued a $550.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, thirty-eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $509.18.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $441.38 on Thursday. Meta Platforms has a fifty-two week low of $208.88 and a fifty-two week high of $531.49. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $495.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $403.40. The company has a quick ratio of 2.67, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The stock has a market cap of $1.13 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.20.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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. Equities analysts expect that Meta Platforms will post 20.18 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 22nd were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 21st. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 11.49%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 97,093 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $469.67, for a total transaction of $45,601,669.31. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Meta Platforms news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 10,956 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $473.28, for a total value of $5,185,255.68. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 76,398 shares in the company, valued at $36,157,645.44. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 97,093 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $469.67, for a total value of $45,601,669.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,349,148 shares of company stock worth $649,552,559. Company insiders own 13.75% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Meta Platforms

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Stone House Investment Management LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms by 625.0% in the third quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 87 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the first quarter worth $44,000. Clear Investment Research LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 411.1% in the fourth quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 92 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gilfoyle & Co LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth $39,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.