Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Given New $500.00 Price Target at Robert W. Baird

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) had its price target cut by Robert W. Baird from $525.00 to $500.00 in a research note published on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the social networking company’s stock.

Several other research firms have also commented on META. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $425.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $470.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. JMP Securities reiterated a market outperform rating and set a $550.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $375.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, thirty-eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $509.18.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Meta Platforms stock opened at $441.38 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $1.13 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 2.67. Meta Platforms has a 1 year low of $208.88 and a 1 year high of $531.49. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $495.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $403.40.

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

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 21st. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Meta Platforms news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 8,036 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $473.28, for a total transaction of $3,803,278.08. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now directly owns 18,432 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,723,496.96. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Meta Platforms news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 8,036 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $473.28, for a total transaction of $3,803,278.08. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now directly owns 18,432 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,723,496.96. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $491.25, for a total transaction of $287,381.25. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 37,228 shares in the company, valued at $18,288,255. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 1,349,148 shares of company stock valued at $649,552,559. Corporate insiders own 13.75% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Stone House Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 625.0% during the third quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 87 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the first quarter valued at about $44,000. Clear Investment Research LLC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 411.1% during the fourth quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 92 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gilfoyle & Co LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.