Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Given New $790.00 Price Target at Cantor Fitzgerald

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) had its price objective raised by Cantor Fitzgerald from $720.00 to $790.00 in a research report released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the social networking company’s stock. Cantor Fitzgerald also issued estimates for Meta Platforms’ FY2025 earnings at $24.45 EPS.

META has been the subject of several other reports. Barclays lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $630.00 to $705.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $555.00 to $636.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective 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. Susquehanna upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $660.00 to $725.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-six have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $706.76.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 1.6 %

META opened at $687.00 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $1.73 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.19. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average of $611.00 and a 200 day moving average of $564.44. Meta Platforms has a 12 month low of $387.10 and a 12 month high of $710.79.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.75 by $1.27. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 37.91% and a return on equity of 39.74%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $5.33 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms will post 25.44 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.29%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.36%.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 22,366 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $648.68, for a total transaction of $14,508,376.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 580 shares in the company, valued at approximately $376,234.40. This represents a 97.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $666.00, for a total transaction of $602,730.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 29,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,510,470. The trade was a 3.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 661,804 shares of company stock worth $407,745,741. Corporate insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Philip James Wealth Mangement LLC lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 30.3% during the 4th quarter. Philip James Wealth Mangement LLC now owns 465 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $272,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP now owns 5,465 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $3,200,000 after acquiring an additional 334 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 15,725 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $9,207,000 after purchasing an additional 959 shares in the last quarter. Hoge Financial Services LLC boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Hoge Financial Services LLC now owns 2,248 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,316,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth $648,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.