Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Stock Price Up 3%

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) was up 3% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $503.96 and last traded at $503.52. Approximately 4,570,247 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 72% from the average daily volume of 16,429,859 shares. The stock had previously closed at $488.92.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on META shares. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $525.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $620.00 price target for the company. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $570.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $522.00 to $555.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, thirty-three have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $572.51.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 2.68 and a current ratio of 2.83. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $494.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $481.40. The stock has a market cap of $1.29 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.82, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.21.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.70 by $0.46. The business had revenue of $39.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.26 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 34.34% and a return on equity of 34.16%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.23 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.49%.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 4,911 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $471.85, for a total value of $2,317,255.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 11,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,373,427.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 4,911 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $471.85, for a total transaction of $2,317,255.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 11,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,373,427.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Nicholas Clegg sold 1,135 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $471.85, for a total value of $535,549.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 8,753 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,130,103.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 318,106 shares of company stock valued at $158,125,941. Insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Meta Platforms

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in META. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 527.3% in the 1st quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the second quarter worth about $38,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 122.2% in the 2nd quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 80 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 95.6% during the 1st quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 88 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.