Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Trading Up 1.3%

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) shares rose 1.3% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $471.96 and last traded at $470.46. Approximately 3,398,624 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 17,517,066 shares. The stock had previously closed at $464.63.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

META has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $360.00 price target for the company. Guggenheim cut their price objective on Meta Platforms from $520.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Wedbush dropped their price target on Meta Platforms from $570.00 to $480.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $545.00 price objective (down from $600.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, thirty-seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $509.80.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 1.1 %

The business’s fifty day moving average price is $485.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $423.55. The company has a current ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The firm has a market cap of $1.19 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.21.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.32 by $0.39. The firm had revenue of $36.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.28 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.06% and a return on equity of 32.03%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.18 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 490 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $488.03, for a total value of $239,134.70. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 79,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,015,070.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 490 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $488.03, for a total value of $239,134.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 79,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,015,070.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $431.05, for a total value of $252,164.25. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 36,643 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,794,965.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 917,544 shares of company stock valued at $453,751,884. Insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Meta Platforms

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. First City Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. First City Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,499 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $728,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Second Line Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.2% in the first quarter. Second Line Capital LLC now owns 9,021 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $4,380,000 after purchasing an additional 279 shares during the period. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 6.7% during the 1st quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. now owns 20,169 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $9,794,000 after acquiring an additional 1,261 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $635,000. Finally, Arrow Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. Arrow Financial Corp now owns 13,416 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $6,515,000 after purchasing an additional 597 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.