Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Trading 1.3% Higher – What’s Next?

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) shares rose 1.3% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $607.99 and last traded at $607.75. Approximately 4,726,056 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 68% from the average daily volume of 14,809,423 shares. The stock had previously closed at $599.85.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Roth Mkm upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $620.00 to $635.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $600.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $665.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Mizuho increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Scotiabank reduced their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $585.00 to $583.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $638.00.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 2.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The company has a market capitalization of $1.53 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.20. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $586.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $544.32.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.19 by $0.84. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 35.55% and a return on equity of 35.60%. The firm had revenue of $40.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $40.21 billion. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is currently 9.42%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 10,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $601.54, for a total transaction of $6,075,554.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $578.55, for a total value of $523,587.75. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 35,102 shares in the company, valued at $20,308,262.10. The trade was a 2.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 287,979 shares of company stock worth $174,503,958 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Hyman Charles D boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 6.7% in the 2nd quarter. Hyman Charles D now owns 3,625 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,828,000 after acquiring an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. Callan Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter worth about $486,000. Liontrust Investment Partners LLP raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 101.7% during the 2nd quarter. Liontrust Investment Partners LLP now owns 122,412 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $61,723,000 after buying an additional 61,709 shares during the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 868,314 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $437,821,000 after buying an additional 4,700 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 13.0% in the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,520,149 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $766,489,000 after buying an additional 174,893 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

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.