Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Shares Up 0.9%

Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) rose 0.9% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $439.62 and last traded at $436.57. Approximately 6,011,543 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 67% from the average daily volume of 18,268,188 shares. The stock had previously closed at $432.62.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Benchmark reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $545.00 target price (down previously from $600.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Wolfe Research lowered their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 25th. UBS Group cut their price target on Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $575.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $570.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, thirty-seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $509.18.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $1.10 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 2.68 and a current ratio of 2.68. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $493.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $406.15.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.32 by $0.39. The business had revenue of $36.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.28 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.06% and a return on equity of 32.03%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 22nd were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 21st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.46%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.49%.

Insider Activity

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 552 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $464.00, for a total value of $256,128.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 34,168 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,853,952. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 10,956 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $473.28, for a total transaction of $5,185,255.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 76,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $36,157,645.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 552 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $464.00, for a total transaction of $256,128.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 34,168 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,853,952. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,276,482 shares of company stock worth $620,451,095. Corporate insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Meta Platforms

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