Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Now Covered by Analysts at BNP Paribas Exane

BNP Paribas Exane initiated coverage on shares of Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage issued an outperform rating and a $800.00 target price on the social networking company’s stock.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $915.00 to $850.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Citizens Jmp upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. HSBC raised Meta Platforms from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $610.00 to $900.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. KeyCorp lowered their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $905.00 to $875.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Roth Capital reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $823.93.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 3.2%

META stock opened at $613.05 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.55 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.20. Meta Platforms has a 12 month low of $479.80 and a 12 month high of $796.25. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $694.63 and its 200 day moving average is $706.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.98 and a quick ratio of 1.98.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The social networking company reported $7.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.74 by $0.51. The company had revenue of $51.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $49.34 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 30.89% and a return on equity of 39.35%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 26.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $6.03 EPS. Meta Platforms has set its Q4 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 22nd were paid a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 22nd. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 2,610 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Saturday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $609.46, for a total transaction of $1,590,690.60. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 9,784 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,962,956.64. This represents a 21.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Aaron Anderson sold 726 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $591.60, for a total value of $429,501.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 6,035 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,570,306. This represents a 10.74% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 40,923 shares of company stock valued at $26,126,437. Corporate insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Meta Platforms

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Infusive Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 10.7% in the 1st quarter. Infusive Asset Management Inc. now owns 23,620 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $13,614,000 after buying an additional 2,285 shares during the period. Spirepoint Private Client LLC raised its position in Meta Platforms by 2.7% during the second quarter. Spirepoint Private Client LLC now owns 4,080 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $3,011,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 10.4% in the second quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 55,431 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $43,790,000 after acquiring an additional 5,224 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 11.0% in the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 210,526 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $155,387,000 after purchasing an additional 20,912 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stephens Inc. AR grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 5.6% during the 2nd quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 84,687 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $62,507,000 after purchasing an additional 4,473 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.