Jefferies Financial Group Increases Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Price Target to $600.00

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) had its price objective raised by analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from $565.00 to $600.00 in a report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the social networking company’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s price target indicates a potential upside of 26.36% from the company’s current price.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on META. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $540.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $520.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Loop Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $550.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $570.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $590.00 to $550.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, thirty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $548.66.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META stock opened at $474.83 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $493.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $477.38. The firm has a market cap of $1.20 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.27, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.21. Meta Platforms has a 1 year low of $274.38 and a 1 year high of $542.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 2.68 and a current ratio of 2.68.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Meta Platforms news, Director Sheryl Sandberg sold 105,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $476.71, for a total value of $50,054,550.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 630,293 shares in the company, valued at $300,466,976.03. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Sheryl Sandberg sold 105,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $476.71, for a total transaction of $50,054,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 630,293 shares in the company, valued at approximately $300,466,976.03. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 2,011 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.92, for a total value of $1,007,350.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 318,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $159,759,417.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 311,175 shares of company stock worth $154,616,712 over the last quarter. 13.71% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 527.3% during the 1st quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 122.2% in the 2nd quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 80 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 95.6% in the 1st quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 88 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.