Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Price Target Raised to $585.00 at Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) had its target price boosted by Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft from $525.00 to $585.00 in a research report released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft currently has a buy rating on the social networking company’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also commented on the company. Wedbush reaffirmed an outperform rating and set a $570.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Bank of America increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $563.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Thursday. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. They set an outperform rating and a $620.00 price objective for the company. Benchmark reissued a hold rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $500.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, thirty-three have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $571.84.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

NASDAQ META traded down $8.37 on Thursday, hitting $489.37. 15,338,283 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 16,362,201. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.68 and a quick ratio of 2.68. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $493.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $477.52. The firm has a market cap of $1.24 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.21. Meta Platforms has a fifty-two week low of $274.38 and a fifty-two week high of $542.81.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.70 by $0.46. The company had revenue of $39.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.26 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 34.34% and a return on equity of 34.63%. The business’s revenue was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.23 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Meta Platforms will post 20.26 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.41%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 11.49%.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 5,058 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $471.85, for a total value of $2,386,617.30. Following the sale, the chief technology officer now owns 15,412 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,272,152.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 5,058 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $471.85, for a total transaction of $2,386,617.30. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now directly owns 15,412 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,272,152.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Sheryl Sandberg sold 105,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $476.71, for a total transaction of $50,054,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 630,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $300,466,976.03. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 310,685 shares of company stock worth $154,398,206. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in META. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Clear Investment Research LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 411.1% during the fourth quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 92 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the period. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 527.3% in the 1st quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 80.4% in the 4th quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC now owns 101 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Finally, POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.