Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) PT Raised to $525.00 at BMO Capital Markets

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) had its price target raised by analysts at BMO Capital Markets from $475.00 to $525.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “market perform” rating on the social networking company’s stock. BMO Capital Markets’ target price would suggest a potential downside of 10.71% from the company’s current price.

Several other research firms also recently commented on META. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $660.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday. Raymond James raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 1st. Barclays upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $520.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $605.33.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 0.8 %

NASDAQ:META traded down $4.93 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $587.96. 3,566,661 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 15,401,146. 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 company has a market capitalization of $1.49 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a fifty day moving average of $532.05 and a 200 day moving average of $503.76. Meta Platforms has a twelve month low of $279.40 and a twelve month high of $602.95.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.70 by $0.46. The firm had revenue of $39.07 billion for 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.23 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Meta Platforms will post 21.36 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $583.73, for a total value of $241,080.49. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 11,946 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,973,238.58. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $501.42, for a total value of $453,785.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 36,035 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,068,669.70. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $583.73, for a total transaction of $241,080.49. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 11,946 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,973,238.58. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 266,332 shares of company stock worth $139,981,833. 13.71% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Central Valley Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Central Valley Advisors LLC now owns 5,714 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $3,271,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the period. S.A. Mason LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. S.A. Mason LLC now owns 1,328 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $645,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Front Row Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 5.7% in the 2nd quarter. Front Row Advisors LLC now owns 371 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $187,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN raised its position in Meta Platforms by 2.0% in the first quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN now owns 1,057 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $513,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 3.4% during the first quarter. Northern Capital Management Inc. now owns 647 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $314,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

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.