Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Trading 0.1% Higher – Still a Buy?

Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) were up 0.1% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $598.51 and last traded at $596.22. Approximately 5,566,581 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 62% from the average daily volume of 14,690,207 shares. The stock had previously closed at $595.57.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on META. Susquehanna raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Meta Platforms from $652.00 to $641.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $670.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Scotiabank dropped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $585.00 to $583.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $638.00.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

The stock’s 50 day moving average is $585.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $541.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.51 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 2.73 and a quick ratio of 2.73.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.19 by $0.84. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 35.55% and a return on equity of 35.60%. The firm had revenue of $40.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $40.21 billion. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.33%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.42%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other news, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $569.93, for a total value of $5,699,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 328,662 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $187,314,333.66. The trade was a 2.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 22,035 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $618.63, for a total transaction of $13,631,512.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 287,879 shares of company stock worth $174,127,704 over the last ninety days. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Lindenwold Advisors INC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Lindenwold Advisors INC now owns 5,918 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $3,388,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Central Valley Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.3% in the third quarter. Central Valley Advisors LLC now owns 5,714 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $3,271,000 after buying an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Cherrydale Wealth Management LLC lifted its position 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 valued at $2,199,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kozak & Associates Inc. grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.0% in the third quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. now owns 1,906 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,099,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.