Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Price Target Raised to $765.00

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) had its price target lifted by Bank of America from $690.00 to $765.00 in a report published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. Bank of America currently has a buy rating on the social networking company’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. TD Securities dropped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $700.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Susquehanna lowered their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $700.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Pivotal Research dropped their price target on Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $830.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $628.00 to $655.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $704.26.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of Meta Platforms stock opened at $682.87 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $1.72 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.26. Meta Platforms has a fifty-two week low of $442.65 and a fifty-two week high of $740.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a current ratio of 2.98. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $604.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $619.60.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.33 by $1.10. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 37.91% and a return on equity of 38.17%. The business had revenue of $42.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $41.45 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $4.71 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Meta Platforms will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.31%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is currently 8.19%.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 608 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $607.50, for a total value of $369,360.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 7,446 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,523,445. This trade represents a 7.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 6,874 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $659.36, for a total transaction of $4,532,440.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 70,040 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $46,181,574.40. The trade was a 8.94% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 86,201 shares of company stock valued at $56,377,837. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of META. Valley Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Valley Financial Group Inc. now owns 588 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $344,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Lantern Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Lantern Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,976 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,743,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the period. Seelaus Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC now owns 1,640 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $960,000 after buying an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Meredith Wealth Planning boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Meredith Wealth Planning now owns 1,873 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,097,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the period. Finally, Maiden Cove Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Maiden Cove Capital LLC now owns 481 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $282,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.