Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Stock Price Up 3.6% – Should You Buy?

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) traded up 3.6% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $618.23 and last traded at $615.53. 5,352,285 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 56% from the average session volume of 12,139,596 shares. The stock had previously closed at $594.25.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on META. Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $665.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $620.00 to $660.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Hsbc Global Res raised Meta Platforms to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. JMP Securities lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $660.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $650.05.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 0.2 %

The stock has a market cap of $1.55 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.19. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $596.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $555.63. 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 released its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $40.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $40.21 billion. Equities research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.68 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.33%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.42%.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 18,644 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $553.55, for a total value of $10,320,386.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,769 shares in the company, valued at $25,888,979.95. This trade represents a 28.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 35,921 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $633.25, for a total transaction of $22,746,973.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 496,174 shares of company stock valued at $301,408,499. 13.71% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in META. Fiera Capital Corp grew its position in Meta Platforms by 35.1% in the 2nd quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 27,272 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $13,751,000 after acquiring an additional 7,089 shares during the last quarter. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the second quarter worth about $352,000. Angeles Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 31.5% in the 2nd quarter. Angeles Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,819 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,430,000 after buying an additional 1,154 shares during the period. Capital Wealth Planning LLC lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 11,972 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $6,037,000 after buying an additional 330 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Waycross Partners LLC boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 8.5% in the 2nd quarter. Waycross Partners LLC now owns 64,066 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $32,303,000 after buying an additional 5,012 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.