Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Trading Up 1.4% – Should You Buy?

Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) were up 1.4% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $642.23 and last traded at $635.95. Approximately 20,079,780 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 33% from the average daily volume of 15,093,658 shares. The stock had previously closed at $627.32.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on META shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $800.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $950.00 to $910.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Zacks Research raised shares of Meta Platforms from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $880.00 to $840.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on Meta Platforms from $915.00 to $850.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-seven have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $827.60.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 1.4%

The business has a fifty day moving average of $733.43 and a 200 day moving average of $701.18. The stock has a market cap of $1.60 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.98 and a quick ratio of 1.98.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The social networking company reported $7.25 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.74 by $0.51. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 39.35% and a net margin of 30.89%.The firm had revenue of $51.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $49.34 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $6.03 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 26.2% on a year-over-year basis. Meta Platforms has set its Q4 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 29th. Investors of record on Monday, September 22nd were paid a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 22nd. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.28%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 18,332 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $764.71, for a total value of $14,018,663.72. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 84,141 shares in the company, valued at approximately $64,343,464.11. This trade represents a 17.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 2,612 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $782.13, for a total transaction of $2,042,923.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 7,609 shares in the company, valued at $5,951,227.17. The trade was a 25.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 90,609 shares of company stock worth $69,806,640 in the last ninety days. 13.61% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of META. Bare Financial Services Inc bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the second quarter worth $30,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the first quarter worth $33,000. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 237.5% during the 2nd quarter. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC now owns 54 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Briaud Financial Planning Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter valued at about $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

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.