Wolfe Research Lowers Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Price Target to $500.00

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) had its target price reduced by Wolfe Research from $530.00 to $500.00 in a report released on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the social networking company’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $397.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $500.00 to $555.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. JMP Securities reiterated a market outperform rating and issued a $550.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, KeyCorp lowered their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $575.00 to $555.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, thirty-seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $509.18.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of Meta Platforms stock opened at $443.29 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $494.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $404.85. The company has a quick ratio of 2.67, a current ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. Meta Platforms has a 52-week low of $229.85 and a 52-week high of $531.49. The company has a market cap of $1.13 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.46, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.20.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.32 by $0.39. The firm had revenue of $36.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.28 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.06% and a return on equity of 32.03%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Meta Platforms will post 20.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 22nd were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 21st. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is presently 11.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 8,036 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $473.28, for a total value of $3,803,278.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now owns 18,432 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,723,496.96. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 19,681 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $393.85, for a total transaction of $7,751,361.85. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 8,036 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $473.28, for a total transaction of $3,803,278.08. Following the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 18,432 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,723,496.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 1,349,148 shares of company stock valued at $649,552,559. 13.75% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Stone House Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 625.0% during the third quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 87 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the first quarter worth $44,000. Clear Investment Research LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 411.1% during the fourth quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 92 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gilfoyle & Co LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Hedge funds and other 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.