Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Stock Price Up 1.9%

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)’s stock price shot up 1.9% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $509.39 and last traded at $508.56. 3,333,960 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 80% from the average session volume of 16,491,986 shares. The stock had previously closed at $498.91.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on META. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $585.00 to $540.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Guggenheim reduced their price objective on Meta Platforms from $520.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $527.00 to $588.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Roth Mkm raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $500.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, thirty-seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $510.05.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $478.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $450.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.68 and a quick ratio of 2.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.28 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.21.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 return on equity of 32.03% and a net margin of 32.06%. Research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.40%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is 11.49%.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 31,493 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $492.14, for a total transaction of $15,498,965.02. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 31,493 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $492.14, for a total transaction of $15,498,965.02. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 490 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $486.75, for a total transaction of $238,507.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 8,559 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,166,093.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 237,638 shares of company stock worth $115,205,996 in the last 90 days. 13.71% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Meta Platforms

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. S.A. Mason LLC boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.5% in the first quarter. S.A. Mason LLC now owns 1,328 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $645,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN grew its position in Meta Platforms by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN now owns 1,057 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $513,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Northern Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Meta Platforms by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Northern Capital Management Inc. now owns 647 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $314,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 5.3% during the first quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 435 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $211,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LongView Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.3% during the first quarter. LongView Wealth Management now owns 1,762 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $856,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during 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.