Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Short Interest Update

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) saw a large decrease in short interest during the month of February. As of February 13th, there was short interest totaling 27,114,122 shares, a decrease of 16.5% from the January 29th total of 32,456,385 shares. Approximately 1.2% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 14,487,964 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.9 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 14,487,964 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.9 days. Approximately 1.2% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on META. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $815.00 to $830.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $930.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $910.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $850.00 price target (up from $800.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $685.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $844.44.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

META opened at $653.56 on Tuesday. Meta Platforms has a 1-year low of $479.80 and a 1-year high of $796.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.60 and a quick ratio of 2.60. The company has a market capitalization of $1.65 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.30. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $655.67 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $683.67.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The social networking company reported $8.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.16 by $0.72. The firm had revenue of $59.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.33 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 30.08% and a return on equity of 38.61%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 23.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $8.02 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Meta Platforms will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is currently 8.94%.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 926 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $652.68, for a total value of $604,381.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 17,039 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,121,014.52. This trade represents a 5.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 8,089 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $631.24, for a total value of $5,106,100.36. Following the sale, the chief technology officer owned 2,841 shares in the company, valued at $1,793,352.84. The trade was a 74.01% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 102,801 shares of company stock valued at $65,693,069. Insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Meta Platforms

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. Westchester Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. RHL Group LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Niles Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Bare Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Meta Platforms

Meta Platforms, Inc (NASDAQ: META), formerly Facebook, Inc, is a global technology company best known for building social networking services and immersive computing platforms. Founded in 2004 and headquartered in Menlo Park, California, the company operates a family of consumer-facing products and services that connect users, creators and businesses. In October 2021 the company rebranded as Meta to reflect an expanded strategic focus on augmented and virtual reality technologies alongside its social media businesses.

Meta’s core consumer products include Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger, which enable social networking, messaging, content sharing and community building across mobile and desktop devices.