Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Given New $800.00 Price Target at Oppenheimer

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) had its target price increased by Oppenheimer from $650.00 to $800.00 in a research note released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the social networking company’s stock.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on META. Arete Research raised shares of Meta Platforms to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $770.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Pivotal Research upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $660.00 to $725.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-six have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $706.76.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of META stock opened at $687.00 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.73 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.19. Meta Platforms has a 12-month low of $387.10 and a 12-month high of $710.79. The company has a current ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 2.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $611.00 and its 200 day moving average is $564.44.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 37.91% and a return on equity of 39.74%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $5.33 EPS. Research analysts expect that Meta Platforms will post 25.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.36%.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 901 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $567.70, for a total transaction of $511,497.70. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 30,581 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,360,833.70. This trade represents a 2.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $562.77, for a total transaction of $232,424.01. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 19,579 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,018,473.83. This trade represents a 2.07 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 661,804 shares of company stock valued at $407,745,741. Corporate insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Seelaus Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 0.9% in the fourth 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. Stephens Consulting LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 317 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $186,000 after buying an additional 16 shares during the period. VeraBank N.A. boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. VeraBank N.A. now owns 1,954 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,144,000 after buying an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. Lindenwold Advisors INC grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.3% during the third quarter. Lindenwold Advisors INC now owns 5,918 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $3,388,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares during the period. Finally, Insight Wealth Strategies LLC raised its position in Meta Platforms by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 1,067 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $625,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.