Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Given New $605.00 Price Target at Robert W. Baird

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) had its price objective lifted by equities researchers at Robert W. Baird from $530.00 to $605.00 in a research report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the social networking company’s stock. Robert W. Baird’s price target points to a potential upside of 6.46% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective 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. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $565.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $620.00 price target for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $570.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, thirty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $583.67.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META stock opened at $568.31 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 2.83 and a current ratio of 2.83. The firm has a market cap of $1.44 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.21. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $512.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $498.54. Meta Platforms has a one year low of $279.40 and a one year high of $576.88.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.70 by $0.46. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 34.16% and a net margin of 34.34%. The company had revenue of $39.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.26 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.23 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Meta Platforms will post 21.36 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.57, for a total transaction of $453,015.85. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 37,845 shares in the company, valued at $18,944,071.65. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $514.96, for a total transaction of $8,600,861.92. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 213,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $109,690,084.72. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.57, for a total transaction of $453,015.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 37,845 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,944,071.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 359,060 shares of company stock worth $188,031,963. 13.71% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Meta Platforms

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of META. S.A. Mason LLC grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.5% in the first quarter. S.A. Mason LLC now owns 1,328 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $645,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Front Row Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 5.7% in the 2nd quarter. Front Row Advisors LLC now owns 371 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $187,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 21 shares during the period. Northern Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Northern Capital Management Inc. now owns 647 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $314,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Buckingham Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 5.1% during the 2nd quarter. Buckingham Capital Management Inc. now owns 433 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $218,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.