Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META – Get Free Report) shot up 2% on Thursday. The stock traded as high as $634.68 and last traded at $624.52. 30,886,416 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 71% from the average session volume of 18,042,857 shares. The stock had previously closed at $612.49.
Trending Headlines about Meta Platforms
Here are the key news stories impacting Meta Platforms this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Meta settled a teen lawsuit alleging that Instagram and Facebook contributed to addiction, depression and eating disorders. Financial terms were not disclosed, but the agreement removes Meta from an upcoming Los Angeles trial and reduces near-term litigation uncertainty. Reuters settlement report
- Positive Sentiment: Meta’s advertising fundamentals remain strong: recent coverage cited higher ad pricing, rising impressions, improved AI-driven ad conversions and strong engagement. Analysts also see meaningful upside, with one fair-value estimate raised from $813.65 to $848.38 per share. Meta fair value report
- Positive Sentiment: Meta expanded its relationship with Advanced Micro Devices, including a $1 billion equity investment and multi-generation chip co-design for Meta’s AI data centers. The deal may improve access to computing capacity and supplier diversification. AMD and Meta partnership report
Analysts Set New Price Targets
A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. Wolfe Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $700.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Mizuho raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Wedbush boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $730.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $840.00 to $860.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $833.12.
Read Our Latest Report on META
Meta Platforms Stock Performance
The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $670.03 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $632.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.57 trillion, a P/E ratio of 20.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.19.
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 22nd. The social networking company reported $7.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.54 by $0.86. The company had revenue of $64.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.34 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 31.15% and a return on equity of 30.73%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $7.25 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Meta Platforms Announces Dividend
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 28th. Investors of record on Monday, September 21st were paid a $0.5250 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 21st. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is 7.16%.
Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms
In other news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,848 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $558.00, for a total value of $4,379,184.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer owned 828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $462,024. This represents a 90.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 27,474 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $777.44, for a total transaction of $21,359,386.56. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 150,015 shares of company stock worth $102,464,300. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bfsg LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 9.2% in the 3rd quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 677 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $491,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Jacksonville Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.2% during the third quarter. Jacksonville Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,405 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,744,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the period. Clear Point Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 13.3% during the third quarter. Clear Point Advisors Inc. now owns 952 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $690,000 after buying an additional 112 shares during the period. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 3.7% in the third quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 40,176 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $25,818,000 after buying an additional 1,441 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 80.4% in the third quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC now owns 1,039 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $754,000 after buying an additional 463 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Meta Platforms Company Profile
Meta Platforms, Inc is a technology company that develops social networking, messaging, virtual and augmented reality, and artificial intelligence products. The company’s principal platforms include Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp, and Threads, which enable users to connect, communicate, share content, and discover products and services.
Meta also operates Reality Labs, its division focused on virtual, augmented, and mixed reality technologies. Reality Labs develops products such as Meta Quest virtual reality headsets and related software and experiences, along with research and hardware intended to support immersive computing.
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