Sanford C. Bernstein Cuts Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Price Target to $565.00

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) had its price objective reduced by Sanford C. Bernstein from $590.00 to $565.00 in a research report report published on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the social networking company’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $585.00 to $540.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Roth Mkm lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $500.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Thursday. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $425.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Susquehanna boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $400.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a positive rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $470.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, thirty-eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $509.18.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

NASDAQ:META traded down $4.03 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $437.35. The company had a trading volume of 18,127,395 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,199,652. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. Meta Platforms has a 52 week low of $229.85 and a 52 week high of $531.49. The firm has a market cap of $1.11 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.21, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.20. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $495.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $403.40.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.28 billion. On average, analysts forecast that Meta Platforms will post 20.18 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 was Wednesday, February 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.46%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 11.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 566 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $404.00, for a total value of $228,664.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 34,720 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,026,880. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other 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 value of $2,600,000.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 68,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,574,000. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 566 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $404.00, for a total transaction of $228,664.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 34,720 shares in the company, valued at $14,026,880. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,349,148 shares of company stock valued at $649,552,559 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 13.75% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. S.A. Mason LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN now owns 1,057 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $513,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the period. LongView Wealth Management raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. LongView Wealth Management now owns 1,762 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $856,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the period. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 5.3% during the 1st quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 435 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $211,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the period. Finally, Madison Wealth Partners Inc raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Madison Wealth Partners Inc now owns 1,417 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $502,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.