Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the forty-three ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, thirty-eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $519.53.

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on META. Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $380.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $415.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $420.00 to $535.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 4.1 %

META stock opened at $481.07 on Friday. Meta Platforms has a 52-week low of $207.13 and a 52-week high of $531.49. The company has a quick ratio of 2.67, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The firm has a market cap of $1.23 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.29, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.20. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $494.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $398.64.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.82 by $0.51. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 28.98% and a return on equity of 29.48%. The firm had revenue of $40.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.12 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.00 earnings per share. Meta Platforms’s quarterly revenue was up 24.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Meta Platforms will post 20.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 22nd were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.42%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.42%.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $498.59, for a total transaction of $291,675.15. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 37,813 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,853,183.67. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 19,681 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $392.36, for a total value of $7,722,037.16. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $498.59, for a total transaction of $291,675.15. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 37,813 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,853,183.67. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,421,182 shares of company stock valued at $677,574,550. Company insiders own 13.75% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Meta Platforms

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.6% during the first quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 172,981 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $84,347,000 after buying an additional 1,072 shares in the last quarter. Cohen Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Cohen Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,158 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $4,932,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 238.5% in the first quarter. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC now owns 5,050 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,452,000 after buying an additional 3,558 shares in the last quarter. Mezzasalma Advisors LLC lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Mezzasalma Advisors LLC now owns 38,569 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $18,728,000 after buying an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN increased its position in Meta Platforms by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN now owns 1,057 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $513,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. 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.