Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Stock Price Down 0.2%

Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) fell 0.2% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $506.02 and last traded at $508.30. 2,849,584 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 16,219,292 shares. The stock had previously closed at $509.50.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on META shares. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $575.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 25th. BNP Paribas started coverage on Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $360.00 price target on the stock. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $585.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Wedbush reduced their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $570.00 to $480.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $520.00 to $562.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, thirty-seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $511.27.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $1.29 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.20, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.21. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $480.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $458.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.68 and a quick ratio of 2.68.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.32 by $0.39. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.06% and a return on equity of 32.03%. The firm had revenue of $36.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.28 billion. Analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.39%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.49%.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,951 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $471.85, for a total transaction of $4,223,529.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 74,580 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,190,573. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 2,011 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.92, for a total transaction of $1,007,350.12. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 318,932 shares in the company, valued at approximately $159,759,417.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,951 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $471.85, for a total transaction of $4,223,529.35. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 74,580 shares in the company, valued at $35,190,573. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 218,086 shares of company stock worth $106,423,370. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Meta Platforms

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 24.2% during the fourth quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 835,972 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $295,901,000 after buying an additional 163,067 shares during the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 3,576,285 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,265,862,000 after buying an additional 51,900 shares in the last quarter. Donoghue Forlines LLC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 94.4% during the fourth quarter. Donoghue Forlines LLC now owns 8,349 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,955,000 after purchasing an additional 4,054 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 451,581 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $159,841,000 after acquiring an additional 32,423 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Voyager Global Management LP grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 37.3% in the fourth quarter. Voyager Global Management LP now owns 515,000 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $182,289,000 after purchasing an additional 140,000 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.