Barclays Boosts Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Price Target to $550.00

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) had its target price lifted by Barclays from $520.00 to $550.00 in a research report released on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the social networking company’s stock.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on META. Bank of America boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $563.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Thursday. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. They set an outperform rating and a $620.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $565.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Thursday. Benchmark reaffirmed a hold rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, thirty-three have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Meta Platforms has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $571.84.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META stock opened at $488.14 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 2.68 and a current ratio of 2.83. Meta Platforms has a fifty-two week low of $274.38 and a fifty-two week high of $542.81. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $494.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $479.09. The company has a market capitalization of $1.24 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.04, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.21.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $38.26 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.23 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Meta Platforms will post 20.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is 11.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $533.95, for a total value of $483,224.75. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 36,940 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,724,113. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Meta Platforms news, insider Nicholas Clegg sold 1,135 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $471.85, for a total value of $535,549.75. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 8,753 shares in the company, valued at $4,130,103.05. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $533.95, for a total value of $483,224.75. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 36,940 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,724,113. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 310,685 shares of company stock valued at $154,398,206. 13.71% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Meta Platforms

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of META. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Clear Investment Research LLC grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 411.1% during the fourth quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 92 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 527.3% during the first quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 80.4% during the fourth quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC now owns 101 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Finally, POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the second quarter worth about $38,000. 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.