Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Given New $570.00 Price Target at Royal Bank of Canada

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) had its price target reduced by Royal Bank of Canada from $600.00 to $570.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the social networking company’s stock.

META has been the subject of a number of other reports. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $400.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Roth Mkm upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $500.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Thursday. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $500.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Needham & Company LLC reiterated an underperform rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an overweight rating and issued a $545.00 price objective (down from $600.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, thirty-eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $509.18.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of Meta Platforms stock traded down $4.03 on Thursday, hitting $437.35. 18,127,395 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 18,199,652. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $495.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $403.40. The company has a quick ratio of 2.67, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. Meta Platforms has a 12-month low of $229.85 and a 12-month high of $531.49. The company has a market cap of $1.11 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.21, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.20.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.32 by $0.39. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.06% and a return on equity of 32.37%. The business had revenue of $36.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.28 billion. Sell-side analysts predict that Meta Platforms will post 20.18 earnings per share for the current 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 issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 21st. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 11.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 6,500 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $400.00, for a total transaction of $2,600,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 68,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,574,000. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 6,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $400.00, for a total transaction of $2,600,000.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 68,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,574,000. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 19,681 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $393.85, for a total value of $7,751,361.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,349,148 shares of company stock valued at $649,552,559. Company insiders own 13.75% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. S.A. Mason LLC increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. S.A. Mason LLC now owns 1,328 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $645,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN now owns 1,057 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $513,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. LongView Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. LongView Wealth Management now owns 1,762 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $856,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 5.3% during the 1st quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 435 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $211,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Madison Wealth Partners Inc boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Madison Wealth Partners Inc now owns 1,417 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $502,000 after acquiring an additional 23 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.