Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Shares Up 0.2%

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) shares shot up 0.2% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $472.73 and last traded at $466.68. 2,714,702 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 83% from the average session volume of 16,070,504 shares. The stock had previously closed at $465.71.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on META. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $500.00 to $525.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $590.00 to $550.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Roth Mkm boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $500.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, thirty-four have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $538.95.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $493.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $476.77. The company has a current ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The firm has a market cap of $1.17 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.81, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.21.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 11.49%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 576 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $466.33, for a total value of $268,606.08. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 36,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,819,124.11. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 412 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $463.00, for a total transaction of $190,756.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 5,559 shares in the company, valued at $2,573,817. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 576 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $466.33, for a total transaction of $268,606.08. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 36,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,819,124.11. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 311,175 shares of company stock worth $154,616,712. 13.71% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 24.2% in the fourth quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 835,972 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $295,901,000 after purchasing an additional 163,067 shares during the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 3,576,285 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,265,862,000 after buying an additional 51,900 shares during the period. Donoghue Forlines LLC grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 94.4% in the 4th quarter. Donoghue Forlines LLC now owns 8,349 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,955,000 after acquiring an additional 4,054 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 451,581 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $159,841,000 after acquiring an additional 32,423 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Voyager Global Management LP increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 37.3% in the fourth quarter. Voyager Global Management LP now owns 515,000 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $182,289,000 after acquiring an additional 140,000 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

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.