Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) PT Raised to $652.00 at Wells Fargo & Company

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) had its target price lifted by Wells Fargo & Company from $647.00 to $652.00 in a report released on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the social networking company’s stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on the company. Tigress Financial increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $575.00 to $645.00 and gave the company a strong-buy rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $565.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Bank of America lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $563.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $598.08.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $595.94 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $527.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $502.60. Meta Platforms has a 52-week low of $279.40 and a 52-week high of $596.85. The company has a market cap of $1.51 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 2.83 and a current ratio of 2.83.

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

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 11.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $578.55, for a total transaction of $523,587.75. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 35,102 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,308,262.10. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $570.00, for a total value of $235,410.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 12,359 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,044,630. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $578.55, for a total transaction of $523,587.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 35,102 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,308,262.10. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 300,228 shares of company stock valued at $158,005,260. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 108,493 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $38,402,000 after purchasing an additional 3,033 shares in the last quarter. Aristides Capital LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 40.0% in the 4th quarter. Aristides Capital LLC now owns 7,000 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,478,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,505 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,303,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. Stephens Inc. AR boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 24.4% in the 4th quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 63,290 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $22,402,000 after purchasing an additional 12,410 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baldwin Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 30.1% in the 4th quarter. Baldwin Investment Management LLC now owns 1,425 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $504,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

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.