Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Price Target Raised to $725.00 at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) had its price target hoisted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $660.00 to $725.00 in a research note released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the social networking company’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on META. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $620.00 to $660.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Roth Mkm increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $620.00 to $635.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $585.00 to $583.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, DA Davidson started coverage on Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price objective for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $638.00.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ META traded up $6.91 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $604.10. 3,171,943 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,678,674. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $585.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $540.85. Meta Platforms has a 1-year low of $340.01 and a 1-year high of $638.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.53 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.46, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 2.73 and a quick ratio of 2.73.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.19 by $0.84. The business had revenue of $40.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $40.21 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 35.60% and a net margin of 35.55%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Meta Platforms will post 22.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.42%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $560.00, for a total value of $231,280.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 12,772 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,152,320. This represents a 3.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Nicholas Clegg sold 7,296 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $553.48, for a total value of $4,038,190.08. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 38,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,416,908.60. The trade was a 15.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 287,387 shares of company stock valued at $173,791,857 over the last ninety days. 13.71% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter valued at $205,000. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms by 214.3% in the second quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 31,929 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $16,099,000 after acquiring an additional 21,770 shares in the last quarter. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the second quarter valued at $907,000. KG&L Capital Management LLC raised its position in Meta Platforms by 3.5% during the second quarter. KG&L Capital Management LLC now owns 9,094 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $4,585,000 after purchasing an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vicus Capital lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 4.7% during the second quarter. Vicus Capital now owns 4,347 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,192,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. 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.