Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Shares Up 1.2% Following Analyst Upgrade

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)’s stock price traded up 1.2% during trading on Monday after The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on the stock from $555.00 to $636.00. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. Meta Platforms traded as high as $600.10 and last traded at $596.79. 2,238,271 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 15,295,687 shares. The stock had previously closed at $589.95.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on META. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $570.00 to $620.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. DA Davidson began coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price target for the company. Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $660.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned 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, Meta Platforms has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $613.46.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 412 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $474.86, for a total transaction of $195,642.32. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 5,971 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,835,389.06. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $489.80, for a total transaction of $443,269.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 35,130 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,206,674. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 412 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $474.86, for a total value of $195,642.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 5,971 shares in the company, valued at $2,835,389.06. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 249,826 shares of company stock valued at $131,791,613 in the last three months. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in META. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 527.3% during the 1st quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the second quarter valued at about $38,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 122.2% in the second quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 80 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 95.6% during the 1st quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 88 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter valued at about $44,000. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.50 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.22. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average of $540.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $506.41.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.70 by $0.46. The business had revenue of $39.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.26 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 34.34% and a return on equity of 34.16%. Meta Platforms’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.23 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.34%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 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.