Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Price Target Raised to $525.00 at BMO Capital Markets

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) had its target price lifted by BMO Capital Markets from $475.00 to $525.00 in a report issued on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a market perform rating on the social networking company’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Roth Mkm increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $510.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $565.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Guggenheim lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $665.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Benchmark reiterated a hold rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. They issued an outperform rating and a $620.00 price objective for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $609.71.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $589.95 on Wednesday. Meta Platforms has a 52-week low of $279.40 and a 52-week high of $602.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 2.83 and a current ratio of 2.83. The business has a fifty day moving average of $538.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $505.59. The stock has a market cap of $1.50 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.89, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.22.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.70 by $0.46. The firm 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 34.16%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.23 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Meta Platforms will post 21.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $589.89, for a total value of $533,850.45. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 34,197 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,172,468.33. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 492 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.75, for a total value of $295,569.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 518,508 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $311,493,681. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $589.89, for a total value of $533,850.45. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 34,197 shares in the company, valued at $20,172,468.33. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 252,443 shares of company stock valued at $133,105,284. 13.71% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of META. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in 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 buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the second quarter valued at about $38,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 122.2% during the second quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 80 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Halpern Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the third quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the third quarter valued at approximately $49,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently 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.