JMP Securities Increases Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Price Target to $635.00

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) had its price objective hoisted by JMP Securities from $550.00 to $635.00 in a report released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a market outperform rating on the social networking company’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $535.00 to $570.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $630.00 to $635.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $615.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, thirty-four have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $591.23.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of META stock opened at $567.36 on Thursday. Meta Platforms has a 1-year low of $279.40 and a 1-year high of $577.40. The company has a current ratio of 2.83, a quick ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The stock has a market cap of $1.44 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.59, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.21. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $516.19 and a 200-day moving average of $499.63.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.70 by $0.46. The business had revenue of $39.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.23 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms will post 21.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.35%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.49%.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $569.93, for a total transaction of $5,699,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 328,662 shares in the company, valued at $187,314,333.66. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $560.00, for a total value of $231,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 12,772 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,152,320. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $569.93, for a total transaction of $5,699,300.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 328,662 shares in the company, valued at $187,314,333.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 325,656 shares of company stock worth $171,028,659 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Sage Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 10.0% in the 2nd quarter. Sage Advisors LLC now owns 2,038 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,028,000 after buying an additional 186 shares during the period. Greater Midwest Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter valued at $2,925,000. Centaurus Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 75.1% during the second quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 23,244 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $11,720,000 after acquiring an additional 9,972 shares in the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.4% in the second quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 20,112 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $10,141,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the period. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 926.6% in the second quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 733,358 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $369,774,000 after purchasing an additional 661,923 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.