Brokerages Set Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) PT at $840.60

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the forty-eight ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $840.5952.

Several equities research analysts recently commented on META shares. Wedbush upgraded shares of Meta Platforms from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $885.00 to $820.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $805.00 to $780.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Guggenheim reduced their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 30th.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,847 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $607.83, for a total value of $4,769,642.01. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 414 shares in the company, valued at approximately $251,641.62. This represents a 94.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 2,079 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $609.92, for a total transaction of $1,268,023.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 1,118 shares in the company, valued at approximately $681,890.56. This represents a 65.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 41,305 shares of company stock worth $25,567,928 in the last 90 days. 13.53% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 34,551 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $20,230,000 after purchasing an additional 570 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,456 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $5,537,000 after purchasing an additional 875 shares during the last quarter. Headwater Capital Co Ltd increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 294.7% during the 1st quarter. Headwater Capital Co Ltd now owns 150,000 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $86,454,000 after purchasing an additional 112,000 shares during the last quarter. Dymon Asia Capital Singapore PTE. LTD. acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter worth $213,000. Finally, Capital & Planning LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter worth $322,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 2.3%

META stock opened at $570.98 on Thursday. Meta Platforms has a 12 month low of $520.26 and a 12 month high of $796.25. The firm has a market cap of $1.44 trillion, a PE ratio of 20.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.23. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $621.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $636.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 2.35 and a quick ratio of 2.35.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.67 by $3.77. The business had revenue of $56.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.56 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.84% and a return on equity of 36.93%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $6.43 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms will post 29.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.63%.

Key Meta Platforms News

Here are the key news stories impacting Meta Platforms this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and bullish commentators reiterated that Meta may be building a large new subscription opportunity and that the stock still screens as attractive versus its growth potential. Truist says Meta has found its next $20 billion business, stock set to gain more than 40%
• Positive Sentiment: Meta announced a major AI data center lease in India with Reliance Industries, signaling continued infrastructure investment to support its long-term AI strategy and global scale. EU regulators order Meta to allow rival AI chatbots free access to WhatsApp
• Positive Sentiment: Several research pieces highlighted Meta as a long-term AI and advertising winner, arguing that the market may be discounting the value of its AI investments too harshly. Meta: The Market’s Perception On AI CapEx Seems Misplaced
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta drew additional attention after being named in “best stocks to buy” and “forever stock” lists, which may support sentiment but is not a company-specific catalyst by itself. 5 Best Forever Stocks to Buy According to Analysts
• Negative Sentiment: EU regulators ordered Meta to restore WhatsApp access for rival AI chatbots during an antitrust probe, adding another regulatory overhang to the company’s AI and messaging strategy. EU regulators order Meta to allow rival AI chatbots free access to WhatsApp
• Negative Sentiment: Reports of an AI-related Instagram security bug and a landmark youth social-media addiction case increase legal, reputational, and platform-risk concerns. Meta A.I. Bug Allowed Hackers to Take Over Instagram Accounts

Meta Platforms Company Profile

Meta Platforms, Inc (NASDAQ: META), formerly Facebook, Inc, is a global technology company best known for building social networking services and immersive computing platforms. Founded in 2004 and headquartered in Menlo Park, California, the company operates a family of consumer-facing products and services that connect users, creators and businesses. In October 2021 the company rebranded as Meta to reflect an expanded strategic focus on augmented and virtual reality technologies alongside its social media businesses.

Meta’s core consumer products include Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger, which enable social networking, messaging, content sharing and community building across mobile and desktop devices.