Brokerages Set Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Price Target at $519.53

Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the forty-four analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, thirty-eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $520.28.

Several equities analysts recently commented on META shares. Citigroup boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and set a $500.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $527.00 to $588.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $500.00 to $555.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Meta Platforms stock opened at $493.50 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $495.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $403.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.26 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.20. 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 has a one year low of $207.13 and a one year high of $531.49.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The social networking company reported $5.33 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.82 by $0.51. The firm had revenue of $40.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.12 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 29.48% and a net margin of 28.98%. Meta Platforms’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.00 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Meta Platforms will post 20.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 22nd were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.41%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 13.42%.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 490 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $488.03, for a total value of $239,134.70. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 79,944 shares in the company, valued at $39,015,070.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 552 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $464.00, for a total value of $256,128.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 34,168 shares in the company, valued at $15,853,952. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 490 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $488.03, for a total value of $239,134.70. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 79,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,015,070.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,368,244 shares of company stock worth $657,034,449 over the last 90 days. 14.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of META. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.0% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 44,003 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $13,210,000 after purchasing an additional 1,679 shares during the last quarter. McGuire Investment Group LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the third quarter valued at $207,000. Wealthcare Capital Management LLC raised its position in Meta Platforms by 12.2% during the third quarter. Wealthcare Capital Management LLC now owns 939 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $282,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the third quarter valued at $53,491,000. Finally, Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the third quarter valued at $23,882,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.