Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) PT Lowered to $500.00

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) had its target price cut by Oppenheimer from $585.00 to $500.00 in a research note released on Thursday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the social networking company’s stock.

META has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Roth Mkm restated a buy rating and set a $500.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Wolfe Research reduced their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $500.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $450.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $609.00 to $600.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Benchmark reissued a hold rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, thirty-eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $509.18.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 10.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $441.38 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 2.67 and a current ratio of 2.67. Meta Platforms has a 52-week low of $208.88 and a 52-week high of $531.49. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $495.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $403.40. The company has a market capitalization of $1.13 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.20.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.32 by $0.39. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.06% and a return on equity of 32.37%. The company had revenue of $36.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.28 billion. Equities analysts forecast that Meta Platforms will post 20.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 22nd were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 21st. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 11.49%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meta Platforms news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 10,956 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $473.28, for a total value of $5,185,255.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 76,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $36,157,645.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 19,681 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $393.85, for a total transaction of $7,751,361.85. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 10,956 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $473.28, for a total transaction of $5,185,255.68. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 76,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $36,157,645.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,349,148 shares of company stock valued at $649,552,559 over the last three months. Insiders own 13.75% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Stone House Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 625.0% in the third quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 87 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the first quarter worth about $44,000. Clear Investment Research LLC raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 411.1% in the fourth quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 92 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gilfoyle & Co LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. 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.