Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Given New $480.00 Price Target at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) had its price objective cut by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $535.00 to $480.00 in a report issued on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the social networking company’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on META. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $450.00 to $525.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Bank of America upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $425.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $415.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $375.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, thirty-eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $509.18.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

NASDAQ META traded down $4.03 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $437.35. 18,127,395 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 18,199,652. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. Meta Platforms has a 52 week low of $229.85 and a 52 week high of $531.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.11 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.20. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $495.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $403.40.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.32 by $0.39. The company had revenue of $36.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.28 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 32.37% and a net margin of 32.06%. Equities research analysts predict that Meta Platforms will post 20.18 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 22nd were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.46%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 11.49%.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 8,036 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $473.28, for a total value of $3,803,278.08. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now directly owns 18,432 shares in the company, valued at $8,723,496.96. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 76,398 shares in the company, valued at $36,157,645.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 8,036 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $473.28, for a total value of $3,803,278.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now owns 18,432 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,723,496.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,349,148 shares of company stock worth $649,552,559 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 13.75% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Stone House Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 625.0% in the third quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 87 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the first quarter worth $44,000. Clear Investment Research LLC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 411.1% during the fourth quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 92 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the period. Finally, Gilfoyle & Co LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.