Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Trading Up 1.7% – Still a Buy?

Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) traded up 1.7% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $571.80 and last traded at $570.06. 2,771,741 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 15,089,037 shares. The stock had previously closed at $560.68.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on META shares. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $530.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $605.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Scotiabank reduced their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $585.00 to $583.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. TD Securities lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $600.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Susquehanna increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $634.10.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 0.1 %

The company’s 50 day moving average is $557.85 and its 200 day moving average is $514.31. The company has a current ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 2.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The company has a market cap of $1.45 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.22.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.19 by $0.84. The business had revenue of $40.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $40.21 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 35.55% and a return on equity of 35.60%. As a group, analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.42%.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 5,057 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $526.76, for a total transaction of $2,663,825.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 11,990 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,315,852.40. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 33,018 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $517.94, for a total transaction of $17,101,342.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 5,057 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $526.76, for a total transaction of $2,663,825.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now owns 11,990 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,315,852.40. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 243,919 shares of company stock worth $129,296,067. Insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Gradient Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 8.9% in the 2nd quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 72,587 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $36,600,000 after purchasing an additional 5,953 shares in the last quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 26.5% in the second quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. now owns 1,678 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $846,000 after acquiring an additional 352 shares during the last quarter. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.7% in 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 in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 412,046 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $235,872,000 after buying an additional 5,594 shares during the period. Finally, BCGM Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 5.3% in the 1st quarter. BCGM Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,311 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $637,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. 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.