Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) PT Raised to $590.00 at Citigroup

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) had its price target upped by Citigroup from $525.00 to $590.00 in a report published on Monday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the social networking company’s stock.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $385.00 to $525.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. UBS Group increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $425.00 to $530.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Wolfe Research increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $430.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $397.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $375.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, thirty-eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $519.53.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

META opened at $501.80 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $1.28 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.20. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $494.29 and a 200-day moving average of $397.43. Meta Platforms has a 52-week low of $207.13 and a 52-week high of $531.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 2.67 and a current ratio of 2.67.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The social networking company reported $5.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.82 by $0.51. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 29.48% and a net margin of 28.98%. The company had revenue of $40.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.00 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 24.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms will post 20.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 21st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.40%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is 13.42%.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 10,956 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $473.28, for a total transaction of $5,185,255.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 76,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $36,157,645.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 566 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $385.00, for a total transaction of $217,910.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 35,286 shares in the company, valued at $13,585,110. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 10,956 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $473.28, for a total value of $5,185,255.68. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 76,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $36,157,645.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,421,182 shares of company stock valued at $677,574,550 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 13.75% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in META. Fairfield Bush & CO. bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the first quarter worth $66,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 12.5% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,244,201 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $499,020,000 after purchasing an additional 249,926 shares during the period. Ergoteles LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 284.0% during the first quarter. Ergoteles LLC now owns 3,356 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $746,000 after purchasing an additional 2,482 shares during the period. First Western Trust Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the first quarter worth $813,000. Finally, Oxford Financial Group Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 26.9% during the first quarter. Oxford Financial Group Ltd. now owns 1,888 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $420,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

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.