Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) PT Raised to $525.00 at BMO Capital Markets

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) had its price objective upped by BMO Capital Markets from $475.00 to $525.00 in a research note published on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a market perform rating on the social networking company’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on META. Citigroup increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $580.00 to $645.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a strong-buy rating in a report on Monday, July 1st. KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $560.00 to $655.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $605.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $522.00 to $555.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $605.33.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of META opened at $590.51 on Wednesday. Meta Platforms has a fifty-two week low of $279.40 and a fifty-two week high of $602.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.50 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.22. The company’s fifty day moving average is $534.36 and its 200 day moving average is $504.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 2.83 and a current ratio of 2.83.

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 the consensus estimate of $4.70 by $0.46. The business had revenue of $39.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.26 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 34.16% and a net margin of 34.34%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.23 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Meta Platforms will post 21.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.34%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.49%.

Insider Activity

In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 1,712 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $502.27, for a total transaction of $859,886.24. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 129,888 shares in the company, valued at $65,238,845.76. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 1,712 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $502.27, for a total transaction of $859,886.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 129,888 shares in the company, valued at $65,238,845.76. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $583.73, for a total transaction of $241,080.49. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 11,946 shares in the company, valued at $6,973,238.58. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 266,412 shares of company stock valued at $140,058,708 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 527.3% in the first quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the second quarter valued at $38,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 122.2% during the second quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 80 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Halpern Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the third quarter worth about $46,000. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the third quarter valued at approximately $49,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.