Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Given New $705.00 Price Target at Barclays

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) had its price objective raised by analysts at Barclays from $630.00 to $705.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the social networking company’s stock. Barclays‘s price objective suggests a potential upside of 4.21% from the stock’s previous close.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. KeyCorp lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Mizuho lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $700.00 target price (up previously from $680.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $750.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-six have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $671.64.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 0.3 %

NASDAQ:META opened at $676.49 on Thursday. Meta Platforms has a 12-month low of $387.10 and a 12-month high of $682.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.71 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 2.73 and a quick ratio of 2.73. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $608.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $563.58.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.75 by $1.27. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 35.60% and a net margin of 35.55%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $5.33 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Meta Platforms will post 22.96 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Nicholas Clegg sold 7,296 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $553.48, for a total transaction of $4,038,190.08. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 38,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,416,908.60. This represents a 15.86 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Aaron Anderson sold 731 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $557.00, for a total value of $407,167.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,414 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,901,598. This represents a 17.64 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 661,312 shares of company stock valued at $407,377,422 in the last three months. Insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Meta Platforms

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 58,218 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $34,087,000 after purchasing an additional 808 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 140,585 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $82,314,000 after purchasing an additional 897 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,827,565 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $7,915,451,000 after purchasing an additional 118,298 shares during the period. LS Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 111.4% during the 3rd quarter. LS Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,679 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $6,686,000 after purchasing an additional 6,155 shares during the period. Finally, Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. now owns 9,735 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $5,573,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.