Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META – Free Report) had its target price upped by Bank of America from $690.00 to $765.00 in a report issued on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the social networking company’s stock.
Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on META. Moffett Nathanson boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $605.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $685.00 to $690.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Pivotal Research reduced their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $830.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Roth Capital boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $580.00 to $620.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Raymond James reduced their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $750.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $704.26.
Read Our Latest Report on Meta Platforms
Meta Platforms Stock Down 0.1%
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.33 by $1.10. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 37.91% and a return on equity of 38.17%. The firm had revenue of $42.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $41.45 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $4.71 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms will post 26.7 EPS for the current 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 issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.30%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.19%.
Insider Activity
In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $701.00, for a total transaction of $363,819.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 29,183 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,457,283. The trade was a 1.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 5,057 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $659.36, for a total transaction of $3,334,383.52. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 16,463 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,855,043.68. This represents a 23.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 86,201 shares of company stock valued at $56,377,837 in the last ninety days. 13.61% of the stock is owned by insiders.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 191,198,005 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $111,948,344,000 after purchasing an additional 1,502,553 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 49,181,127 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $28,719,970,000 after buying an additional 1,020,519 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 42,317,434 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $24,777,282,000 after buying an additional 1,049,121 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 40,317,105 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $23,606,338,000 after buying an additional 1,141,355 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $19,949,512,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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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