Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Trading 3.1% Higher After Analyst Upgrade

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) shares rose 3.1% during trading on Thursday after Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on the stock from $535.00 to $590.00. Sanford C. Bernstein currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Meta Platforms traded as high as $510.86 and last traded at $509.54. Approximately 5,337,613 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 68% from the average daily volume of 16,917,754 shares. The stock had previously closed at $494.17.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on META. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Tigress Financial increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $435.00 to $575.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. TD Cowen increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $415.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $425.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $527.00 to $588.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, thirty-eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $519.53.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 19,681 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $392.36, for a total value of $7,722,037.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 19,681 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $392.36, for a total value of $7,722,037.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 10,956 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $473.28, for a total value of $5,185,255.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 76,398 shares in the company, valued at $36,157,645.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,421,182 shares of company stock valued at $677,574,550. Corporate insiders own 13.75% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System increased its position in Meta Platforms by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 172,981 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $84,347,000 after buying an additional 1,072 shares during the period. Cohen Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Meta Platforms by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Cohen Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,158 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $4,932,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the period. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC increased its position in Meta Platforms by 238.5% in the 1st quarter. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC now owns 5,050 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,452,000 after buying an additional 3,558 shares during the period. Mezzasalma Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Mezzasalma Advisors LLC now owns 38,569 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $18,728,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN now owns 1,057 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $513,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $1.23 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $494.55 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $398.64. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The social networking company reported $5.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.82 by $0.51. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 29.48% and a net margin of 28.98%. The company had revenue of $40.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.12 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.00 EPS. Meta Platforms’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

About Meta Platforms

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.