Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Stock Price Up 1.2% After Analyst Upgrade

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) shares traded up 1.2% during trading on Monday after Citigroup raised their price target on the stock from $580.00 to $645.00. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the stock. Meta Platforms traded as high as $573.98 and last traded at $568.12. 4,004,732 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 74% from the average session volume of 15,617,740 shares. The stock had previously closed at $561.35.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on META. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. TD Securities lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $600.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Truist Financial raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $535.00 to $570.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, thirty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $578.92.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 901 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $451.15, for a total value of $406,486.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 33,324 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,034,122.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 901 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $451.15, for a total value of $406,486.15. Following the sale, the insider now owns 33,324 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,034,122.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Peggy Alford sold 1,052 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $479.00, for a total transaction of $503,908.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,168 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,954,472. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 346,666 shares of company stock worth $180,145,414. Insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of META. Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 24.2% in the fourth quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 835,972 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $295,901,000 after acquiring an additional 163,067 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 3,576,285 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,265,862,000 after buying an additional 51,900 shares in the last quarter. Voyager Global Management LP lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 37.3% during the 4th quarter. Voyager Global Management LP now owns 515,000 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $182,289,000 after acquiring an additional 140,000 shares during the period. Gradient Investments LLC raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 8.9% in the second quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 72,587 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $36,600,000 after purchasing an additional 5,953 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baillie Gifford & Co. grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 14.0% during the first quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 6,101,501 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,962,767,000 after buying an additional 748,076 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 1.2 %

The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $507.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $497.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.44 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 2.83 and a current ratio of 2.83.

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

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.35%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 11.49%.

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.