Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the forty-three analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, thirty-seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $509.18.

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $470.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $375.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $545.00 price target (down previously from $600.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $550.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $570.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

NASDAQ:META opened at $443.29 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $494.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $404.27. 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 market cap of $1.13 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.20. Meta Platforms has a 1-year low of $229.85 and a 1-year high of $531.49.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.32 by $0.39. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.06% and a return on equity of 32.37%. The firm had revenue of $36.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.28 billion. On average, equities analysts expect that Meta Platforms will post 20.18 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 22nd were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 21st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.45%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is currently 11.49%.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $18,288,255. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $491.25, for a total transaction of $287,381.25. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 37,228 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,288,255. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 10,956 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $473.28, for a total transaction of $5,185,255.68. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 76,398 shares in the company, valued at $36,157,645.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 1,349,148 shares of company stock worth $649,552,559. 13.75% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.0% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 44,003 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $13,210,000 after acquiring an additional 1,679 shares in the last quarter. McGuire Investment Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the third quarter worth approximately $207,000. Wealthcare Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 12.2% during the third quarter. Wealthcare Capital Management LLC now owns 939 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $282,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the third quarter worth approximately $53,491,000. Finally, Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the third quarter worth approximately $23,882,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.