Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Trading Down 1.2% on Analyst Downgrade

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) shares dropped 1.2% on Monday after KeyCorp lowered their price target on the stock from $575.00 to $555.00. KeyCorp currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Meta Platforms traded as low as $473.40 and last traded at $475.44. Approximately 6,905,431 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 59% from the average daily volume of 17,017,107 shares. The stock had previously closed at $481.07.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on META. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $415.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $397.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Wolfe Research upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $430.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $535.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, thirty-eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $520.28.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 97,093 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $469.67, for a total transaction of $45,601,669.31. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $395.00, for a total transaction of $1,777,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 75,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,796,825. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 97,093 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $469.67, for a total transaction of $45,601,669.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,391,935 shares of company stock worth $666,288,408. Company insiders own 14.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in META. Stone House Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in 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 buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 68.9% during the third quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 103 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. PayPay Securities Corp increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 65.2% during the third quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 109 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clear Investment Research LLC increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 411.1% during the fourth quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 92 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 0.1 %

The firm has a market cap of $1.23 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.33, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.20. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $494.81 and its 200 day moving average price is $401.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 2.67.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The social networking company reported $5.33 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.82 by $0.51. The business had revenue of $40.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $39.12 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 28.98% and a return on equity of 29.48%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 24.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.00 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 22nd were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 21st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.42%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is presently 13.42%.

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.