Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Trading 2.2% Higher

VaselineAugust 17, 2024

0 5 minutes read

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META – Get Your Free Report ) rose 2.2% on Thursday. The company traded as high as $538.88 and last traded at $538.25. About 3,773,140 shares changed hands during trading, down 77% from the average daily volume of 16,314,333 shares. Shares previously closed at $526.76.

Changes in Analyst Ratings

META has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $620.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $500.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $563.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, thirty-three have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. The stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $574.41, according to MarketBeat.

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The company has a quick ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 2.83, and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The stock has a market cap of $1.34 trillion, a PE ratio of 30.29, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.21. The company’s 50-day moving average is $500.48, and its two-hundred-day moving average is $487.20.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META – Get Your Free Report ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The social media company reported $5.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.70 by $0.46. The business had revenue of $39.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.26 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 34.16% and a net margin of 34.34%. The company’s revenue was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. In the same period last year, the company earned $3.23 per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. This represents an annualized dividend of $2.00 and a dividend yield of 0.38%. Meta Platforms’ dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 11.49%.

Insider buying and selling

In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $528.51, for a total transaction of $8,827,174.02. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 72,473 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,302,705.23. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed via this hyperlink. In related news, Director Sheryl Sandberg sold 105,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $476.71, for a total transaction of $50,054,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 630,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $300,466,976.03. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available on the SEC’s website. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $528.51, for a total value of $8,827,174.02. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 72,473 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,302,705.23. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 349,174 shares of company stock worth $175,146,777 in the last quarter. 13.71% of shares are currently owned by insiders.

Institutional inputs and outputs

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of META. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Clear Investment Research LLC raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 411.1% in the 4th quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 92 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. 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 acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the second quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 122.2% in the second quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 80 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s shares.

About Meta Platforms

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Meta Platforms, Inc is committed to developing products that enable people to connect and share with friends and family through mobile devices, personal computers, virtual reality headsets and wearables around the world. It operates in two segments, Family of Apps and Reality Labs. The Family of Apps segment offers Facebook, which allows people to share, chat, discover and connect with interests; Instagram, a community for sharing photos, videos and private messages, as well as feeds, stories, movies, videos, live and shops; Messenger, a messaging app for people to connect with friends, family, communities and businesses across platforms and devices through text, audio and video calls; and WhatsApp, a messaging app that is used by people and businesses to communicate and transact privately.