![Meta Platforms Inc Logo.png](https://magnificent7news.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/meta-platforms-inc-logo.png)
Loop Capital reissued their buy rating on shares of Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META – Free Report) in a report issued on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. Loop Capital currently has a $550.00 target price on the social networking company’s stock.
A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on the company. KeyCorp lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $475.00 to $540.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. They issued an underperform rating and a $360.00 target price on the stock. Wolfe Research dropped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $500.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $500.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated an underperform rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, thirty-seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $511.27.
View Our Latest Stock Analysis on META
Meta Platforms Stock Up 0.1 %
Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $509.96 on Wednesday. Meta Platforms has a 52-week low of $274.38 and a 52-week high of $531.49. 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 business has a fifty day moving average of $481.05 and a two-hundred day moving average of $458.42. The stock has a market cap of $1.29 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.29, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.21.
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META – Get Free Report) last issued 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 the consensus estimate of $36.28 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.06% and a return on equity of 32.03%. On average, research analysts expect that Meta Platforms will post 20.16 earnings per share for the current year.
Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.49%.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other news, Director Sheryl Sandberg sold 105,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $476.71, for a total transaction of $50,054,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 630,293 shares in the company, valued at $300,466,976.03. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $522.00, for a total transaction of $305,370.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 38,398 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,043,756. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Sheryl Sandberg sold 105,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $476.71, for a total value of $50,054,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 630,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $300,466,976.03. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 252,395 shares of company stock valued at $123,781,816. 13.71% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 24.2% in the fourth quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 835,972 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $295,901,000 after purchasing an additional 163,067 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 3,576,285 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,265,862,000 after acquiring an additional 51,900 shares during the period. Donoghue Forlines LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 94.4% during the 4th quarter. Donoghue Forlines LLC now owns 8,349 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,955,000 after acquiring an additional 4,054 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 451,581 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $159,841,000 after acquiring an additional 32,423 shares during the period. Finally, Voyager Global Management LP increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 37.3% in the 4th quarter. Voyager Global Management LP now owns 515,000 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $182,289,000 after purchasing an additional 140,000 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.
See Also
Receive News & Ratings for Meta Platforms Daily – Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts’ ratings for Meta Platforms and related companies with MarketBeat.com’s FREE daily email newsletter.