Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Stock Price Up 1.5% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) were up 1.5% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $662.54 and last traded at $657.15. Approximately 14,013,381 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 10% from the average daily volume of 15,521,786 shares. The stock had previously closed at $647.51.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on META. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $875.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $900.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $810.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt decreased their price target on Meta Platforms from $860.00 to $808.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $819.46.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

The business’s 50 day moving average is $664.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $707.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a current ratio of 1.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.66 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.28.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The social networking company reported $7.25 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.74 by $0.51. The firm had revenue of $51.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $49.34 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 39.35% and a net margin of 30.89%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $6.03 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 15th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is presently 9.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Aaron Anderson sold 726 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $591.60, for a total value of $429,501.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 6,035 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,570,306. This trade represents a 10.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 11,690 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $593.31, for a total transaction of $6,935,793.90. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 2,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,432,843.65. This represents a 82.88% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 40,458 shares of company stock valued at $25,436,200. Corporate insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.4% during the second quarter. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors now owns 3,506 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,587,000 after buying an additional 13 shares during the period. Pachira Investments Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Pachira Investments Inc. now owns 488 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $360,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Hemington Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 2,223 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,641,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares during the period. Vista Capital Partners Inc. grew its position in Meta Platforms by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. now owns 1,075 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $794,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Trust Co of the South increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.8% in the third quarter. Trust Co of the South now owns 1,850 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,359,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the period. 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.