Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Given New $765.00 Price Target at Bank of America

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) had its target price upped by Bank of America from $690.00 to $765.00 in a research note published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the social networking company’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on META. Guggenheim lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $725.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $752.00 to $664.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Wedbush raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $680.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Benchmark reduced their price target on Meta Platforms from $820.00 to $640.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $665.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $704.26.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 1.5%

NASDAQ META opened at $682.87 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Meta Platforms has a 1-year low of $442.65 and a 1-year high of $740.91. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $604.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $619.60. The company has a market capitalization of $1.72 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.26.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.33 by $1.10. The company had revenue of $42.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $41.45 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.17% and a net margin of 37.91%. The business’s revenue was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $4.71 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.31%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.19%.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $701.00, for a total value of $363,819.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 29,183 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,457,283. The trade was a 1.75% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 475 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $628.25, for a total value of $298,418.75. Following the transaction, the director now owns 10,272 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,453,384. This represents a 4.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 86,201 shares of company stock valued at $56,377,837 over the last quarter. 13.61% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. Kondo Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. Kondo Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 738 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $425,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Birchbrook Inc. raised its position in Meta Platforms by 5.5% in the 1st quarter. Birchbrook Inc. now owns 2,409 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,388,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. First Long Island Investors LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 29.0% in the first quarter. First Long Island Investors LLC now owns 46,902 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $27,032,000 after purchasing an additional 10,531 shares in the last quarter. eCIO Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the first quarter worth $58,000. Finally, Militia Capital Partners LP grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 420.0% during the first quarter. Militia Capital Partners LP now owns 1,600 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $922,000 after purchasing an additional 2,100 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by 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.