Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Stock Price Up 0.4%

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) rose 0.4% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $474.47 and last traded at $474.28. Approximately 2,969,569 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 18,051,848 shares. The stock had previously closed at $472.60.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. KeyCorp lowered their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $575.00 to $555.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Raymond James dropped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $525.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Benchmark reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price target on Meta Platforms from $590.00 to $565.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $450.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, thirty-seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Meta Platforms presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $509.80.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $489.80 and its 200-day moving average is $412.20. The firm has a market cap of $1.21 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.21.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.32 by $0.39. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 32.03% and a net margin of 32.06%. The business had revenue of $36.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.28 billion. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 8,036 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $473.28, for a total transaction of $3,803,278.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer now directly owns 18,432 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,723,496.96. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 97,093 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $469.67, for a total transaction of $45,601,669.31. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 8,036 shares of the business’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 transaction of $3,803,278.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 18,432 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,723,496.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,223,416 shares of company stock valued at $597,392,856 in the last 90 days. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. S.A. Mason LLC grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. S.A. Mason LLC now owns 1,328 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $645,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.0% during the first quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN now owns 1,057 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $513,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the period. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 5.3% in the 1st quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 435 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $211,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. LongView Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. LongView Wealth Management now owns 1,762 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $856,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. Finally, Madison Wealth Partners Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Madison Wealth Partners Inc now owns 1,417 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $502,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is 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.