Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Trading 3.8% Higher – Here’s What Happened

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) shares traded up 3.8% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $637.05 and last traded at $636.22. 24,763,539 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 59% from the average session volume of 15,539,338 shares. The stock had previously closed at $613.05.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Pivotal Research upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $830.00 to $930.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $920.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, JMP Securities increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $823.93.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 3.8%

The company has a quick ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The company has a market cap of $1.60 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.10, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.20. The company’s fifty day moving average is $694.63 and its 200-day moving average is $706.53.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The social networking company reported $7.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.74 by $0.51. The business had revenue of $51.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $49.34 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 30.89% and a return on equity of 39.35%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 26.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $6.03 EPS. Meta Platforms has set its Q4 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 22nd were given a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 22nd. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $609.35, for a total transaction of $365,610.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 7,347 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,476,894.45. This represents a 7.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Aaron Anderson sold 726 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $591.60, for a total transaction of $429,501.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 6,035 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,570,306. The trade was a 10.74% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 40,923 shares of company stock worth $26,126,437. 13.61% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Westchester Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Bare Financial Services Inc bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the first quarter worth approximately $33,000. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 237.5% in the second quarter. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC now owns 54 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Briaud Financial Planning Inc bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter valued at $42,000. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Company Profile

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.