Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Shares Up 0.2% – Should You Buy?

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) shares shot up 0.2% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $506.39 and last traded at $503.53. 4,779,310 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 68% from the average session volume of 14,779,488 shares. The stock had previously closed at $502.31.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

META has been the subject of several research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Meta Platforms from $765.00 to $685.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $811.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $800.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $600.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $684.10.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 0.0 %

The business has a 50-day moving average of $616.82 and a 200 day moving average of $607.81. The company has a market capitalization of $1.27 trillion, a PE ratio of 20.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.98 and a quick ratio of 2.98.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.75 by $1.27. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 37.91% and a return on equity of 38.17%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.33 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.42%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is 8.78%.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 608 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $488.18, for a total transaction of $296,813.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 5,622 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,744,547.96. The trade was a 9.76 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $543.39, for a total transaction of $500,462.19. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 29,340 shares in the company, valued at $15,943,062.60. This trade represents a 3.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 414,901 shares of company stock worth $282,367,368. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Avondale Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth about $43,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

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.