Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Price Target Raised to $588.00 at Stifel Nicolaus

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) had its price objective hoisted by Stifel Nicolaus from $527.00 to $588.00 in a research note released on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a buy rating on the social networking company’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $397.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $375.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $450.00 to $525.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $450.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $380.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, thirty-eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $519.53.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Meta Platforms stock opened at $481.07 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $494.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $398.64. Meta Platforms has a one year low of $207.13 and a one year high of $531.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 2.67. The firm has a market cap of $1.23 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.20.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The social networking company reported $5.33 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.82 by $0.51. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 29.48% and a net margin of 28.98%. The firm had revenue of $40.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.12 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.00 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 24.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Meta Platforms will post 20.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 22nd were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 21st. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is 13.42%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 19,681 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $392.36, for a total value of $7,722,037.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 19,681 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $392.36, for a total transaction of $7,722,037.16. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 10,956 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $473.28, for a total value of $5,185,255.68. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 76,398 shares in the company, valued at $36,157,645.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,421,182 shares of company stock valued at $677,574,550 in the last ninety days. 13.75% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. S.A. Mason LLC raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. S.A. Mason LLC now owns 1,328 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $645,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN now owns 1,057 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $513,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. LongView Wealth Management increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. LongView Wealth Management now owns 1,762 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $856,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Madison Wealth Partners Inc increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Madison Wealth Partners Inc now owns 1,417 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $502,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Henrickson Nauta Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Henrickson Nauta Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 1,247 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $648,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.