Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Stock Price Up 1.2% – Time to Buy?

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) traded up 1.2% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $583.28 and last traded at $583.52. Approximately 3,892,745 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 73% from the average daily volume of 14,226,908 shares. The stock had previously closed at $576.36.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Benchmark raised Meta Platforms from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $820.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $753.00 to $780.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $800.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $770.00 price target (up previously from $700.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Two equities research 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $718.55.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 2.2 %

The stock has a market cap of $1.49 trillion, a P/E ratio of 24.63, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a quick ratio of 2.98, a current ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $654.50 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $610.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.75 by $1.27. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.17% and a net margin of 37.91%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $5.33 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.36%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $627.05, for a total value of $577,513.05. Following the sale, the insider now owns 31,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,552,673.10. The trade was a 2.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $677.71, for a total value of $13,554,200.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 308,686 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $209,199,589.06. This represents a 6.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 583,505 shares of company stock valued at $385,495,911 in the last ninety days. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Meta Platforms

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Valley Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Valley Financial Group Inc. now owns 588 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $344,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Lantern Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Lantern Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,976 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,743,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares during the period. Seelaus Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC now owns 1,640 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $960,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. Meredith Wealth Planning boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Meredith Wealth Planning now owns 1,873 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,097,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Maiden Cove Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Maiden Cove Capital LLC now owns 481 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $282,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.