Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Price Target Lowered to $550.00 at Citigroup

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) had its price objective decreased by Citigroup from $590.00 to $550.00 in a research note published on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the social networking company’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on META. JMP Securities reaffirmed a market outperform rating and set a $550.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday. Tigress Financial lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $435.00 to $575.00 and gave the company a strong-buy rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Benchmark reaffirmed a hold rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday. Truist Financial dropped their target price on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $535.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Guggenheim dropped their target price on Meta Platforms from $520.00 to $500.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, thirty-eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $509.18.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ META traded down $4.03 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $437.35. 18,127,395 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,199,652. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.11 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.20. Meta Platforms has a 52 week low of $229.85 and a 52 week high of $531.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 2.67. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $495.08 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $403.40.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.32 by $0.39. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 32.37% and a net margin of 32.06%. The business had revenue of $36.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.28 billion. Analysts predict that Meta Platforms will post 20.18 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 21st. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 11.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $491.25, for a total value of $287,381.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 37,228 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,288,255. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 19,681 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $393.85, for a total transaction of $7,751,361.85. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $491.25, for a total value of $287,381.25. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 37,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,288,255. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,349,148 shares of company stock worth $649,552,559 in the last quarter. 13.75% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of META. Stone House Investment Management LLC raised its position in Meta Platforms by 625.0% during the 3rd quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 87 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Meta Platforms by 68.9% during the 3rd quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 103 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. PayPay Securities Corp raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 65.2% in the 3rd quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 109 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clear Investment Research LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 411.1% in the 4th quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 92 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.