Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) PT Raised to $620.00 at Monness Crespi & Hardt

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) had its price target upped by Monness Crespi & Hardt from $570.00 to $620.00 in a report released on Monday morning, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the social networking company’s stock.

META has been the topic of several other reports. Bank of America increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $563.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $615.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a market perform rating and issued a $450.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $565.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $598.08.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Meta Platforms stock opened at $582.77 on Monday. Meta Platforms has a fifty-two week low of $279.40 and a fifty-two week high of $583.36. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $524.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $501.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.83 and a quick ratio of 2.83. The company has a market cap of $1.48 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.21.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.70 by $0.46. The firm had revenue of $39.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.26 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 34.34% and a return on equity of 34.16%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.23 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Meta Platforms will post 21.36 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.34%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 11.49%.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $578.55, for a total value of $523,587.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 35,102 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,308,262.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $578.55, for a total value of $523,587.75. Following the sale, the insider now owns 35,102 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,308,262.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 150 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.49, for a total transaction of $75,073.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 124,387 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $62,254,449.63. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 300,228 shares of company stock worth $158,005,260. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vantage Financial Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Vantage Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,323 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $468,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Concentrum Wealth Management raised its position in Meta Platforms by 111.0% in the 4th quarter. Concentrum Wealth Management now owns 7,391,877 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,616,000 after purchasing an additional 3,888,308 shares during the last quarter. Rollins Financial boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Rollins Financial now owns 30,657 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $10,851,000 after purchasing an additional 2,133 shares in the last quarter. Prudent Man Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth $533,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 16.9% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 31,943 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $11,307,000 after buying an additional 4,612 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.