Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Price Target Raised to $550.00 at Truist Financial

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) had its target price boosted by Truist Financial from $525.00 to $550.00 in a report published on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the social networking company’s stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Meta Platforms from $609.00 to $600.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $375.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $435.00 to $535.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, thirty-eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $509.90.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 1.1 %

NASDAQ:META opened at $494.17 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.26 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.20. Meta Platforms has a twelve month low of $207.13 and a twelve month high of $531.49. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $493.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $396.70. The company has a quick ratio of 2.67, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The social networking company reported $5.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.82 by $0.51. The firm had revenue of $40.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.12 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 29.48% and a net margin of 28.98%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 24.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.00 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Meta Platforms will post 20.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 21st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.40%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.42%.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 490 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $517.75, for a total transaction of $253,697.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 7,579 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,924,027.25. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 490 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $517.75, for a total value of $253,697.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 7,579 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,924,027.25. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $522.00, for a total value of $305,370.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 38,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,043,756. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 1,440,278 shares of company stock valued at $684,796,490. Corporate insiders own 14.03% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of META. Stone House Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 625.0% in the 3rd quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 87 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 68.9% in the third quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 103 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Finally, Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.