Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Shares Up 1.8% After Analyst Upgrade

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) traded up 1.8% on Friday after Arete Research upgraded the stock from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating. The stock traded as high as $674.69 and last traded at $673.42. 20,941,405 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 35% from the average session volume of 15,558,997 shares. The stock had previously closed at $661.53.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Truist Financial decreased their target price on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $875.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. BNP Paribas Exane began coverage on Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, November 24th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $800.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $837.00 to $802.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $915.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $900.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $819.43.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $609.35, for a total value of $365,610.00. Following the sale, the director owned 7,347 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,476,894.45. This represents a 7.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 6,875 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Saturday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $609.46, for a total transaction of $4,190,037.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 88,370 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,857,980.20. This represents a 7.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 41,959 shares of company stock worth $26,671,107 in the last three months. 13.61% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 34,551 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $20,230,000 after acquiring an additional 570 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,456 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $5,537,000 after purchasing an additional 875 shares during the period. Smart Money Group LLC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 20.4% in the first quarter. Smart Money Group LLC now owns 2,052 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,182,000 after purchasing an additional 348 shares during the period. Aspire Growth Partners LLC raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 7.3% in the first quarter. Aspire Growth Partners LLC now owns 662 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $395,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Waddell & Associates LLC lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 5.0% during the first quarter. Waddell & Associates LLC now owns 2,508 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,446,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $1.70 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.74, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.98 and a quick ratio of 1.98. The company’s 50-day moving average is $673.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $706.04.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The social networking company reported $7.25 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $6.03 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 15th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.28%.

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.