Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Given New $540.00 Price Target at Jefferies Financial Group

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) had its price objective decreased by Jefferies Financial Group from $585.00 to $540.00 in a research report released on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. Jefferies Financial Group currently has a buy rating on the social networking company’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $370.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $425.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Rosenblatt Securities upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $520.00 to $562.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Meta Platforms from $609.00 to $600.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Meta Platforms from $535.00 to $480.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, thirty-eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $509.18.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 0.9 %

META stock traded down $4.03 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $437.35. The stock had a trading volume of 18,127,395 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,199,652. The company has a fifty day moving average of $495.08 and a 200 day moving average of $403.40. Meta Platforms has a 1-year low of $229.85 and a 1-year high of $531.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.11 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.21, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.32 by $0.39. The firm had revenue of $36.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.28 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.06% and a return on equity of 32.37%. On average, equities analysts expect that Meta Platforms will post 20.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 22nd were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 21st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.46%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 11.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 8,036 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $473.28, for a total transaction of $3,803,278.08. Following the sale, the chief technology officer now owns 18,432 shares in the company, valued at $8,723,496.96. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 8,036 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $473.28, for a total value of $3,803,278.08. Following the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 18,432 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,723,496.96. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 566 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $404.00, for a total transaction of $228,664.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 34,720 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,026,880. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 1,349,148 shares of company stock valued at $649,552,559. 13.75% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Stone House Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 625.0% in the 3rd quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 87 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 68.9% during the 3rd quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 103 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. PayPay Securities Corp lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 65.2% in the 3rd quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 109 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clear Investment Research LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 411.1% in the fourth quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 92 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.