Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Stock Price Down 2.6% After Analyst Downgrade

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) shares traded down 2.6% during trading on Thursday after Scotiabank lowered their price target on the stock from $585.00 to $583.00. Scotiabank currently has a sector perform rating on the stock. Meta Platforms traded as low as $573.09 and last traded at $576.63. 9,111,765 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 40% from the average session volume of 15,076,720 shares. The stock had previously closed at $591.80.

META has been the subject of several other reports. Loop Capital raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Meta Platforms to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $530.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $665.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $600.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $629.39.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 84 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.00, for a total transaction of $50,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 518,424 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $311,054,400. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Meta Platforms news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,950 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $526.76, for a total value of $4,714,502.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 74,579 shares in the company, valued at $39,285,234.04. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 84 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.00, for a total value of $50,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 518,424 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $311,054,400. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 250,818 shares of company stock valued at $132,569,993. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Central Valley Advisors LLC raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Central Valley Advisors LLC now owns 5,714 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $3,271,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the period. Cherrydale Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.5% in the third quarter. Cherrydale Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,841 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,199,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,787 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,595,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. Kozak & Associates Inc. increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. now owns 1,906 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,099,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.5% during the third quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 3,560 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,038,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $554.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $512.18. The stock has a market cap of $1.44 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.07, a PEG ratio of 1.42 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 quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.19 by $0.84. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 34.34% and a return on equity of 34.16%. The company had revenue of $40.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $40.21 billion. On average, equities analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.35%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is 11.49%.

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.