Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Trading Up 1.1% – Should You Buy?

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)’s stock price shot up 1.1% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $593.34 and last traded at $576.14. Approximately 31,144,183 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 85% from the average daily volume of 16,843,945 shares. The stock had previously closed at $570.05.

Key Stories Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta agreed to settle claims brought by dozens of U.S. states alleging that Facebook and Instagram were designed to addict children, misled users about safety and improperly collected minors’ data. The agreement ends the closely watched federal trial and reduces the uncertainty associated with potentially much larger penalties. Meta reaches $18 billion of settlements over children’s social media addiction
• Positive Sentiment: The settlement reportedly requires Meta to pay up to approximately $16.7 billion to $18 billion, but the company avoided a trial judgment and potentially far higher damages. The resolution may also provide greater visibility into future legal liabilities. Meta settles federal social media addiction trial with California AG, others
• Positive Sentiment: Unusually heavy call-option activity indicated bullish positioning among some traders, with call volume reported at roughly 920,000 contracts, or about 50% above average. Separately, Evercore ISI said Meta’s expanding AI infrastructure could eventually support revenue from selling excess computing capacity to outside customers. Meta stock has over 50% upside, but investors may be missing this catalyst

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 30th. KeyCorp decreased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $790.00 to $780.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $785.00 price target (down from $800.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $650.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $785.32.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $592.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $613.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 2.23 and a quick ratio of 2.23. The stock has a market cap of $1.47 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.70, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.19 by ($1.01). Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 33.18% and a net margin of 29.83%.The business had revenue of $60.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $60.22 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $7.14 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th were issued a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.91%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $561.56, for a total value of $280,780.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 2,943 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,652,671.08. This represents a 14.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 1,258 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.00, for a total transaction of $754,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 1,517 shares in the company, valued at $910,200. This represents a 45.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 34,957 shares of company stock worth $20,442,696. Company insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the second quarter worth about $235,170,000. Financial Insights Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Financial Insights Inc. now owns 879 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $495,000 after buying an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 7.1% during the 2nd quarter. Strategic Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,509 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $850,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 3,217,353 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,812,303,000 after buying an additional 24,255 shares during the last quarter. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 56,957.6% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 1,878,304,587 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,058,030,191,000 after buying an additional 1,875,012,642 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Company Profile

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.