Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Trading Up 3.5% – Should You Buy?

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) was up 3.5% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $614.20 and last traded at $613.65. Approximately 14,907,164 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 0% from the average daily volume of 14,867,434 shares. The stock had previously closed at $592.83.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

META has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $620.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. DA Davidson initiated coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $630.00 to $660.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $634.71.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 2.73 and a current ratio of 2.73. The company has a market capitalization of $1.55 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.90, a PEG ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.20. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $575.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $528.92.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $40.21 billion. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.33%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.42%.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $507.63, for a total transaction of $459,405.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 37,817 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,197,043.71. This represents a 2.34 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 84 shares of Meta Platforms 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 $311,054,400. This represents a 0.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 105,334 shares of company stock valued at $59,210,941. Corporate insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. Lindenwold Advisors INC increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Lindenwold Advisors INC now owns 5,918 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $3,388,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Central Valley Advisors LLC grew its holdings 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 worth $3,271,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Cherrydale Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.5% during 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 during the last quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC lifted 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 worth $1,595,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the period. Finally, Kozak & Associates Inc. boosted 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 acquiring an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

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.