Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Coverage Initiated at Pivotal Research

Pivotal Research assumed coverage on shares of Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) in a research report report published on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued a buy rating and a $780.00 price target on the social networking company’s stock.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on META. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an overweight rating and set a $660.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, September 30th. UBS Group raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $630.00 to $635.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $522.00 to $555.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a market perform rating and issued a $450.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $598.08.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

NASDAQ:META opened at $595.94 on Tuesday. Meta Platforms has a 52 week low of $279.40 and a 52 week high of $596.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 2.83 and a current ratio of 2.83. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $524.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $501.92. The firm has a market cap of $1.51 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.22.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.70 by $0.46. The company had revenue of $39.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.26 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 34.34% and a return on equity of 34.16%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.23 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Meta Platforms will post 21.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.34%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 11.49%.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $533.95, for a total value of $483,224.75. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 36,940 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,724,113. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $533.95, for a total transaction of $483,224.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 36,940 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,724,113. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,950 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $526.76, for a total value of $4,714,502.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 74,579 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,285,234.04. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 300,228 shares of company stock valued at $158,005,260 in the last 90 days. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in META. Biltmore Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 11.0% in the 3rd quarter. Biltmore Wealth Management LLC now owns 554 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $317,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Capital CS Group LLC boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 102.3% in the third quarter. Capital CS Group LLC now owns 1,156 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $662,000 after purchasing an additional 52,227 shares during the last quarter. jvl associates llc grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 21.6% in the 3rd quarter. jvl associates llc now owns 951 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $544,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the period. HBW Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. HBW Advisory Services LLC now owns 6,463 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $3,700,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the period. Finally, First Citizens Financial Corp increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 8.1% during the 3rd quarter. First Citizens Financial Corp now owns 670 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $384,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is 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.