Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Price Target Lowered to $520.00 at Barclays

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) had its price objective lowered by Barclays from $550.00 to $520.00 in a research report released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the social networking company’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on META. Wolfe Research reduced their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $500.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Susquehanna raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $400.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a positive rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Roth Mkm boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $500.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Thursday. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed an underperform rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $527.00 to $588.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, thirty-eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $509.18.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of Meta Platforms stock traded down $4.03 on Thursday, hitting $437.35. 18,127,395 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 18,199,652. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $495.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $403.40. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $1.11 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.20. Meta Platforms has a one year low of $229.85 and a one year high of $531.49.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.32 by $0.39. The firm had revenue of $36.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.28 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 32.37% and a net margin of 32.06%. On average, research analysts expect that Meta Platforms will post 20.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 22nd were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 21st. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 11.49%.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $522.00, for a total transaction of $305,370.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 38,398 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,043,756. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 490 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $488.03, for a total transaction of $239,134.70. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 79,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,015,070.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $522.00, for a total transaction of $305,370.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 38,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,043,756. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,349,148 shares of company stock worth $649,552,559 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 13.75% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. Stone House Investment Management LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms by 625.0% in the third quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 87 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter valued at about $44,000. Clear Investment Research LLC lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 411.1% in the 4th quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 92 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gilfoyle & Co LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by 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.