Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Trading 0.4% Higher – Time to Buy?

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) shares traded up 0.4% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $568.88 and last traded at $565.79. 2,153,861 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 15,072,323 shares. The stock had previously closed at $563.69.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Roth Mkm upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $620.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Loop Capital boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $619.20.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 0.5 %

The business has a fifty day moving average of $549.53 and a 200-day moving average of $509.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.44 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.83 and a quick ratio of 2.83.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its 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 return on equity of 34.16% and a net margin of 34.34%. The firm 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 company earned $3.23 earnings per share. Meta Platforms’s revenue was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.35%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 11.49%.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $580.65, for a total value of $239,808.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 11,120 shares in the company, valued at $6,456,828. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $580.65, for a total value of $239,808.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 11,120 shares in the company, valued at $6,456,828. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 33,018 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $517.94, for a total value of $17,101,342.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 249,912 shares of company stock worth $132,027,612 in the last quarter. 13.71% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 187,180,393 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $90,891,055,000 after acquiring an additional 831,047 shares during the period. Capital World Investors raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 38,299,316 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $18,597,382,000 after purchasing an additional 244,803 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 14.5% during the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 34,597,001 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $16,799,612,000 after purchasing an additional 4,379,826 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 24.7% during the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 13,867,398 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $6,733,731,000 after purchasing an additional 2,748,620 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GQG Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 11,497,335 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $5,582,876,000 after purchasing an additional 342,742 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.