Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Trading 3.7% Higher – Time to Buy?

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) rose 3.7% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $638.50 and last traded at $635.26. Approximately 22,476,765 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 43% from the average daily volume of 15,746,555 shares. The stock had previously closed at $612.34.

Key Headlines Impacting Meta Platforms

Here are the key news stories impacting Meta Platforms this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Meta launched or began testing paid subscription tiers for Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Meta AI, a potential new revenue source that could reduce dependence on ads.
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market commentary highlighted that the subscription strategy could materially boost revenue and support further upside if adoption is strong.
• Positive Sentiment: Meta continues to lean into AI, with reports that its AI models have improved ad performance and that the company may use excess compute for new cloud or enterprise services.
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.525 per share, signaling capital returns but likely not a major stock-moving catalyst on its own.
• Neutral Sentiment: Some investors remain cautious as commentary from high-profile figures and traders questioned whether Meta’s heavy AI and infrastructure spending will pay off quickly enough.
• Negative Sentiment: Reuters reported Meta’s employee-tracking tool may face EU privacy scrutiny, adding regulatory risk around how the company collects and uses data.
• Negative Sentiment: Reports of insider selling by COO Javier Olivan and a large share trim by Discovery Capital may weigh slightly on sentiment, even if the sales were not necessarily bearish signals.
• Negative Sentiment: Meta also faces ongoing litigation and public criticism over privacy, encryption, and a Kentucky trial seeking a large penalty, which could keep legal overhangs in focus.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

META has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Meta Platforms from $908.00 to $865.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Wolfe Research decreased their price target on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Citizens Jmp reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $900.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $840.19.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

The business has a 50-day moving average price of $617.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $636.91. The company has a current ratio of 2.35, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The company has a market cap of $1.59 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.67 by $3.77. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.84% and a return on equity of 36.93%. The company had revenue of $56.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.56 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $6.43 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 9,195 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $607.84, for a total value of $5,589,088.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,186 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,014,978.24. This represents a 41.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 837 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $608.98, for a total transaction of $509,716.26. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 13,823 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,417,930.54. This trade represents a 5.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders sold 40,366 shares of company stock worth $25,038,396. Corporate insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in META. Vista Capital Partners Inc. increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. now owns 1,075 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $794,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the period. First National Bank Sioux Falls increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. First National Bank Sioux Falls now owns 2,001 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,321,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. now owns 984 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $649,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 539 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $396,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arcataur Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Arcataur Capital Management LLC now owns 1,736 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,146,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

About Meta Platforms

Meta Platforms, Inc (NASDAQ: META), formerly Facebook, Inc, is a global technology company best known for building social networking services and immersive computing platforms. Founded in 2004 and headquartered in Menlo Park, California, the company operates a family of consumer-facing products and services that connect users, creators and businesses. In October 2021 the company rebranded as Meta to reflect an expanded strategic focus on augmented and virtual reality technologies alongside its social media businesses.

Meta’s core consumer products include Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger, which enable social networking, messaging, content sharing and community building across mobile and desktop devices.