Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the forty-three research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have given a hold recommendation, thirty-five have assigned a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $650.05.

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Scotiabank reduced their target price on Meta Platforms from $585.00 to $583.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Raymond James reissued a “strong-buy” rating and set a $675.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $670.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $590.00 to $663.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 0.2 %

NASDAQ META opened at $612.77 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $596.78 and its 200 day moving average is $557.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.55 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.86, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 2.73 and a quick ratio of 2.73. Meta Platforms has a 1 year low of $370.95 and a 1 year high of $638.40.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.19 by $0.84. The business had revenue of $40.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $40.21 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 35.55% and a return on equity of 35.60%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Meta Platforms will post 22.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.33%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is currently 9.42%.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 35,921 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $633.25, for a total value of $22,746,973.25. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Aaron Anderson sold 731 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $557.00, for a total value of $407,167.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,414 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,901,598. This represents a 17.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 496,174 shares of company stock valued at $301,408,499 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of META. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 18.8% in the fourth quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC now owns 512 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $300,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. Cerro Pacific Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Cerro Pacific Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,356 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,494,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. FCG Investment Co raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 7.9% in the 4th quarter. FCG Investment Co now owns 8,210 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $4,807,000 after purchasing an additional 604 shares during the last quarter. Lifestyle Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Lifestyle Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,020 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,768,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Yeomans Consulting Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 16.2% during the fourth quarter. Yeomans Consulting Group Inc. now owns 625 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $366,000 after buying an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.