TD Cowen Cuts Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Price Target to $530.00

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) had its price target cut by TD Cowen from $590.00 to $530.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the social networking company’s stock.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on META. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $370.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $575.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Wedbush lowered their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $570.00 to $480.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Rosenblatt Securities upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $520.00 to $562.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $425.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, thirty-seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Meta Platforms presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $509.18.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 0.4 %

Meta Platforms stock opened at $443.29 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.67, a current ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. Meta Platforms has a 12-month low of $229.85 and a 12-month high of $531.49. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $494.48 and its 200 day moving average is $405.39. The company has a market capitalization of $1.13 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.46, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.20.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.32 by $0.39. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.06% and a return on equity of 32.03%. The firm had revenue of $36.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.28 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Meta Platforms will post 20.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 8,036 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $473.28, for a total value of $3,803,278.08. Following the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 18,432 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,723,496.96. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 8,036 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $473.28, for a total value of $3,803,278.08. Following the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 18,432 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,723,496.96. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 10,956 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $473.28, for a total transaction of $5,185,255.68. Following the completion of the sale, 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,277,048 shares of company stock valued at $620,679,759. 13.75% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Private Trust Co. NA grew its position in Meta Platforms by 3.3% during the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 10,747 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $3,226,000 after acquiring an additional 339 shares during the last quarter. Wagner Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms by 28.0% during the third quarter. Wagner Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,130 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $339,000 after acquiring an additional 247 shares during the last quarter. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms by 21.7% during the third quarter. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 1,764 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $530,000 after acquiring an additional 315 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms by 11.3% during the third quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 7,339 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,203,000 after acquiring an additional 748 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Richelieu Gestion SA grew its position in Meta Platforms by 29.1% during the third quarter. Richelieu Gestion SA now owns 2,595 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $779,000 after acquiring an additional 585 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.