Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) PT Raised to $635.00 at JMP Securities

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) had its price objective hoisted by JMP Securities from $550.00 to $635.00 in a research note published on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a market outperform rating on the social networking company’s stock.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on META. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. TD Securities boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $600.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Loop Capital increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. BMO Capital Markets restated a market perform rating and set a $450.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an outperform rating and issued a $570.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, thirty-four have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $591.23.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 0.1 %

Meta Platforms stock opened at $567.36 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.83 and a quick ratio of 2.83. Meta Platforms has a fifty-two week low of $279.40 and a fifty-two week high of $577.40. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $516.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $499.60. The firm has a market cap of $1.44 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.21.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.70 by $0.46. The business had revenue of $39.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.26 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 34.16% and a net margin of 34.34%. The firm’s revenue was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.23 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Meta Platforms will post 21.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 33,018 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $517.94, for a total transaction of $17,101,342.92. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $509.10, for a total transaction of $8,502,988.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 186,826 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $95,113,116.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 33,018 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $517.94, for a total transaction of $17,101,342.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 342,358 shares of company stock worth $179,431,101. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. S.A. Mason LLC lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. S.A. Mason LLC now owns 1,328 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $645,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Front Row Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 5.7% in the second quarter. Front Row Advisors LLC now owns 371 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $187,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 2.0% in the first quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN now owns 1,057 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $513,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Northern Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Meta Platforms by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Northern Capital Management Inc. now owns 647 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $314,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. Finally, Buckingham Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 5.1% during the 2nd quarter. Buckingham Capital Management Inc. now owns 433 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $218,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.