Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Price Target Increased to $650.00 by Analysts at Mizuho

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) had its price objective boosted by Mizuho from $600.00 to $650.00 in a report released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the social networking company’s stock.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on META. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $600.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $570.00 to $620.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $635.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $617.37.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 0.0 %

META opened at $576.93 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $1.46 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.14, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.22. Meta Platforms has a 1-year low of $279.40 and a 1-year high of $602.95. The company has a current ratio of 2.83, a quick ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The company’s 50 day moving average is $545.36 and its 200-day moving average is $508.09.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.70 by $0.46. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 34.16% and a net margin of 34.34%. The company had revenue of $39.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.26 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.23 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Meta Platforms will post 21.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is currently 11.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 492 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.75, for a total transaction of $295,569.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 518,508 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $311,493,681. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $489.80, for a total value of $443,269.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 35,130 shares in the company, valued at $17,206,674. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 492 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.75, for a total transaction of $295,569.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 518,508 shares in the company, valued at approximately $311,493,681. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 250,816 shares of company stock valued at $132,421,828. 13.71% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 527.3% during the 1st quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the second quarter worth about $38,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 122.2% during the 2nd quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 80 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. increased its position in Meta Platforms by 95.6% during the 1st quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 88 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Finally, Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter valued at about $44,000. 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.