Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META – Free Report) had its price objective hoisted by Raymond James from $675.00 to $725.00 in a research report report published on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a strong-buy rating on the social networking company’s stock.
A number of other research analysts have also commented on META. Barclays upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Scotiabank reduced their target price on Meta Platforms from $585.00 to $583.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $660.00 to $725.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $651.27.
View Our Latest Stock Analysis on Meta Platforms
Meta Platforms Stock Performance
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.19 by $0.84. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 35.60% and a net margin of 35.55%. The firm had revenue of $40.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $40.21 billion. On average, equities analysts forecast that Meta Platforms will post 22.96 EPS for the current year.
Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.32%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is currently 9.42%.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $580.10, for a total value of $524,990.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 31,482 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,262,708.20. The trade was a 2.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $574.16, for a total value of $237,128.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 10,707 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,147,531.12. The trade was a 3.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 531,190 shares of company stock worth $322,938,501. 13.71% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms
Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of META. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 57,001.5% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 9,517,111 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $5,447,975,000 after acquiring an additional 9,500,444 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 61,769.3% during the third quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC now owns 4,132,870 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,365,820,000 after acquiring an additional 4,126,190 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 4,658.5% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 909,548 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $520,662,000 after acquiring an additional 890,434 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 48,160,608 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $27,470,870,000 after acquiring an additional 698,884 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 926.6% during the second quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 733,358 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $369,774,000 after acquiring an additional 661,923 shares in the last quarter. 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.
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