Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) PT Raised to $615.00 at Oppenheimer

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) had its price objective raised by Oppenheimer from $525.00 to $615.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the social networking company’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Truist Financial lowered their price target 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. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Thursday. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $563.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $570.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, thirty-three have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Meta Platforms has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $571.84.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:META traded down $9.60 on Thursday, reaching $488.14. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 23,826,476 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,412,861. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $493.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $477.52. Meta Platforms has a 52-week low of $274.38 and a 52-week high of $542.81. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $1.24 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.79, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.21.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.70 by $0.46. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 34.34% and a return on equity of 34.63%. The business had revenue of $39.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.26 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.23 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Meta Platforms will post 20.26 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.41%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 11.49%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 2,011 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.92, for a total transaction of $1,007,350.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 318,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $159,759,417.44. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Meta Platforms news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,951 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $471.85, for a total transaction of $4,223,529.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 74,580 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,190,573. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 2,011 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.92, for a total transaction of $1,007,350.12. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 318,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $159,759,417.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 310,685 shares of company stock valued at $154,398,206 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Colonial River Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 85.4% in the 4th quarter. Colonial River Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,629 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,638,000 after purchasing an additional 2,132 shares during the last quarter. ERTS Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. ERTS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,769 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $626,000 after buying an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 12,191 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $4,315,000 after buying an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Arcadia Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth about $225,000. Finally, Parcion Private Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Parcion Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,658 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $941,000 after buying an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.