Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Trading 0.4% Higher – What’s Next?

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)’s stock price rose 0.4% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $725.01 and last traded at $715.08. Approximately 6,350,447 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 59% from the average daily volume of 15,592,344 shares. The stock had previously closed at $711.99.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

META has been the subject of several recent research reports. Barclays increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $630.00 to $705.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $750.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $715.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $590.00 to $663.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $710.83.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.98 and a quick ratio of 2.98. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $624.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $572.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.80 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.20.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.75 by $1.27. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 37.91% and a return on equity of 38.17%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.33 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 25.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.28%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is currently 8.36%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $702.24, for a total value of $635,527.20. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 28,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,936,593.60. This trade represents a 3.09 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 12,975 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $696.23, for a total value of $9,033,584.25. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 197,996 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $137,850,755.08. This represents a 6.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 701,146 shares of company stock valued at $435,387,895. Corporate insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 57,001.5% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 9,517,111 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $5,447,975,000 after purchasing an additional 9,500,444 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 78,471.1% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,248,763 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $3,658,713,000 after purchasing an additional 6,240,810 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 61,769.3% during the third quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC now owns 4,132,870 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,365,820,000 after acquiring an additional 4,126,190 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,243,603,000. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 87,269.8% in the fourth quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 1,067,659 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $625,125,000 after buying an additional 1,066,437 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.