Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) PT Raised to $652.00

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) had its price objective lifted by equities researchers at Wells Fargo & Company from $647.00 to $652.00 in a report released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the social networking company’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price indicates a potential upside of 11.88% from the company’s current price.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on META. Needham & Company LLC reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $570.00 to $620.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Susquehanna increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $563.00 to $630.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $598.08.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

META opened at $582.77 on Wednesday. Meta Platforms has a twelve month low of $279.40 and a twelve month high of $583.36. The firm has a market cap of $1.48 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.47, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a current ratio of 2.83, a quick ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $524.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $501.92.

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 company had revenue of $39.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.26 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 34.16% and a net margin of 34.34%. The company’s revenue was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.23 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Meta Platforms will post 21.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 901 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $451.15, for a total value of $406,486.15. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,324 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,034,122.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $530.75, for a total value of $8,864,586.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 169,372 shares in the company, valued at $89,894,189. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 901 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $451.15, for a total value of $406,486.15. Following the sale, the insider now owns 33,324 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,034,122.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 300,228 shares of company stock valued at $158,005,260 over the last 90 days. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. First Citizens Financial Corp raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 8.1% during the 3rd quarter. First Citizens Financial Corp now owns 670 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $384,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Duncan Williams Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the third quarter worth approximately $393,000. Abacus Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 39.0% during the third quarter. Abacus Wealth Partners LLC now owns 585 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $335,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares during the period. Private Client Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 87.1% in the 3rd quarter. Private Client Services LLC now owns 1,560 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $893,000 after acquiring an additional 726 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Apella Capital LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 14.0% in the 3rd quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 2,315 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,326,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.