Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META – Free Report) had its price target upped by KeyCorp from $700.00 to $750.00 in a research note published on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the social networking company’s stock.
A number of other research firms have also issued reports on META. Wolfe Research lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $670.00 to $730.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $620.00 to $660.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Needham & Company LLC reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Raymond James raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $725.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-six have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $706.76.
Check Out Our Latest Research Report on META
Meta Platforms Stock Up 0.3 %
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.75 by $1.27. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 39.74% and a net margin of 37.91%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $5.33 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms will post 25.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Meta Platforms Announces Dividend
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.29%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.36%.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 35,921 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $673.57, for a total transaction of $24,195,307.97. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 901 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $567.70, for a total value of $511,497.70. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 30,581 shares in the company, valued at $17,360,833.70. This represents a 2.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 661,804 shares of company stock worth $407,745,741. 13.71% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. JDM Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. Avondale Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. Halpern Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter worth $46,000. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter worth $49,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
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.
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