Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Stock Price Down 1.2% on Analyst Downgrade

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) was down 1.2% on Monday after KeyCorp lowered their price target on the stock from $575.00 to $555.00. KeyCorp currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Meta Platforms traded as low as $473.40 and last traded at $475.44. Approximately 6,905,431 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 59% from the average daily volume of 17,017,107 shares. The stock had previously closed at $481.07.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on META. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $385.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $609.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $370.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Mizuho increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $470.00 to $575.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $425.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, thirty-eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $519.03.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 566 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $385.00, for a total value of $217,910.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 35,286 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,585,110. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 566 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the insider now owns 35,286 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,585,110. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 19,681 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $392.36, for a total value of $7,722,037.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,392,501 shares of company stock valued at $666,506,318 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 14.03% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of META. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.3% in the third quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 3,856 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,158,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the period. OneAscent Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 7.7% in the third quarter. OneAscent Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,895 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $569,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the period. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 5.1% in the third quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 13,476 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $4,046,000 after purchasing an additional 650 shares during the period. Cooper Financial Group grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 37.1% in the third quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 3,527 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,059,000 after purchasing an additional 954 shares during the period. Finally, St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.6% in the third quarter. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC now owns 5,256 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,578,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $1.21 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 2.67. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $494.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $399.98.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The social networking company reported $5.33 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.82 by $0.51. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 29.48% and a net margin of 28.98%. The business had revenue of $40.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.12 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.00 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 22nd were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 21st. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is currently 13.42%.

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.