Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Rating Reiterated by Wedbush

Wedbush reissued their outperform rating on shares of Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) in a report released on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. Wedbush currently has a $570.00 price objective on the social networking company’s stock.

META has been the topic of a number of other reports. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $575.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $500.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $535.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. They issued an underperform rating and a $360.00 target price on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a market perform rating and issued a $450.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $534.87.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of META opened at $465.70 on Wednesday. Meta Platforms has a twelve month low of $274.38 and a twelve month high of $542.81. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $493.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $475.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.18 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.75, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a current ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted 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 net margin of 32.06% and a return on equity of 32.03%. Equities analysts forecast that Meta Platforms will post 20.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is currently 11.49%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $431.05, for a total transaction of $252,164.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 36,643 shares in the company, valued at $15,794,965.15. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 412 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $474.86, for a total transaction of $195,642.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 5,971 shares in the company, valued at $2,835,389.06. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $431.05, for a total transaction of $252,164.25. Following the sale, the insider now owns 36,643 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,794,965.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 311,348 shares of company stock worth $154,678,120. Insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Clear Investment Research LLC grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 411.1% in the fourth quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 92 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 527.3% in the first 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 period. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 80.4% in the fourth quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC now owns 101 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Finally, POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the second quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.