Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Earns “Overweight” Rating from Cantor Fitzgerald

Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated their overweight rating on shares of Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) in a report issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $660.00 price target on the social networking company’s stock.

META has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an outperform rating and set a $570.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, August 1st. TD Securities raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $600.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Susquehanna boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a positive rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, thirty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $591.23.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Meta Platforms stock opened at $567.84 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $1.44 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.83 and a quick ratio of 2.83. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $514.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $499.02. Meta Platforms has a one year low of $279.40 and a one year high of $577.40.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.70 by $0.46. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 34.16% and a net margin of 34.34%. The company had revenue of $39.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.23 earnings per share. Meta Platforms’s revenue was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Meta Platforms will post 21.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.35%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.49%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.57, for a total transaction of $453,015.85. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 37,845 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,944,071.65. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $509.10, for a total value of $8,502,988.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 186,826 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $95,113,116.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.57, for a total transaction of $453,015.85. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 37,845 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,944,071.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 342,358 shares of company stock worth $179,431,101 in the last three months. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in META. Vantage Financial Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Vantage Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,323 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $468,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Concentrum Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 111.0% during the 4th quarter. Concentrum Wealth Management now owns 7,391,877 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,616,000 after acquiring an additional 3,888,308 shares during the last quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 45.7% during the 4th quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,302 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $815,000 after acquiring an additional 722 shares during the last quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 66.4% in the 4th quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,993 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,413,000 after acquiring an additional 1,594 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rollins Financial raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Rollins Financial now owns 30,657 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $10,851,000 after purchasing an additional 2,133 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by 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.