Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Price Target Cut to $500.00 by Analysts at Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) had its price target cut by Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft from $540.00 to $500.00 in a research note published on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the social networking company’s stock.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on META. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $575.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Thursday. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $415.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $520.00 to $562.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $425.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, thirty-eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $509.18.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of Meta Platforms stock traded down $4.03 during trading on Thursday, reaching $437.35. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 18,127,395 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,199,652. Meta Platforms has a one year low of $229.85 and a one year high of $531.49. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $495.08 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $403.40. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.11 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.20.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.32 by $0.39. The firm had revenue of $36.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.28 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 32.37% and a net margin of 32.06%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms will post 20.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 6,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief operating officer now owns 68,935 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,574,000. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 8,036 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer now directly owns 18,432 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,723,496.96. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 6,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $400.00, for a total value of $2,600,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 68,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,574,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,349,148 shares of company stock valued at $649,552,559 in the last ninety days. 13.75% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. S.A. Mason LLC boosted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN grew its position in shares of 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. LongView Wealth Management raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 5.3% in the 1st quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 435 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $211,000 after buying an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Madison Wealth Partners Inc increased its stake 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 buying an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

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.