Barclays Cuts Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Price Target to $520.00

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) had its price objective decreased by Barclays from $550.00 to $520.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the social networking company’s stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Raymond James cut their price objective on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $525.00 and set a strong-buy rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on Meta Platforms from $540.00 to $500.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Citigroup boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Mizuho boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $470.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Meta Platforms from $609.00 to $600.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, thirty-seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $509.18.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of META opened at $443.29 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $494.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $404.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 2.67 and a current ratio of 2.68. Meta Platforms has a 52-week low of $229.85 and a 52-week high of $531.49. The company has a market cap of $1.13 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.46, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.20.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.32 by $0.39. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 32.03% and a net margin of 32.06%. The firm had revenue of $36.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.28 billion. Analysts predict that Meta Platforms will post 20.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.45%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is presently 11.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $491.25, for a total transaction of $287,381.25. Following the sale, the insider now owns 37,228 shares in the company, valued at $18,288,255. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 6,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $400.00, for a total value of $2,600,000.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 68,935 shares in the company, valued at $27,574,000. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $491.25, for a total value of $287,381.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 37,228 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,288,255. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,349,148 shares of company stock worth $649,552,559. Corporate insiders own 13.75% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Meta Platforms

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Stone House Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 625.0% in the third quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 87 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the first quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Clear Investment Research LLC grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 411.1% in the fourth quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 92 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gilfoyle & Co LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. 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.