Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Trading 1.1% Higher – Should You Buy?

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) rose 1.1% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $633.33 and last traded at $612.16. Approximately 6,782,018 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 50% from the average daily volume of 13,630,255 shares. The stock had previously closed at $605.71.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

META has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $715.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $710.00 to $765.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $720.00 to $790.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Susquehanna raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Argus set a $775.00 price target on Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Two 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 given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $719.26.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 2.7 %

The business’s fifty day moving average is $657.45 and its 200 day moving average is $601.96. The company has a quick ratio of 2.98, a current ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock has a market cap of $1.58 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.23.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.75 by $1.27. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.17% and a net margin of 37.91%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $5.33 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.34%. This is a positive change from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 35,921 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $622.24, for a total value of $22,351,483.04. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $644.00, for a total transaction of $593,124.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 33,945 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,860,580. This trade represents a 2.64 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 725,081 shares of company stock worth $472,702,625 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Centaurus Financial Inc. grew its position in Meta Platforms by 30.7% during the 4th quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 37,651 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $22,045,000 after acquiring an additional 8,851 shares during the last quarter. Wealthedge Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,366,000. Lighthouse Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $206,000. Anchor Pointe Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth $608,000. Finally, SpringVest Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $223,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.