Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Price Target Raised to $752.00 at Wells Fargo & Company

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) had its price objective lifted by Wells Fargo & Company from $685.00 to $752.00 in a research report report published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the social networking company’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Pivotal Research raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $780.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $530.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Wolfe Research raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $670.00 to $730.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Meta Platforms to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-six have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $706.76.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $687.00 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $611.00 and a two-hundred day moving average of $564.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.73 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 2.73 and a quick ratio of 2.73. Meta Platforms has a 12 month low of $387.10 and a 12 month high of $710.79.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.75 by $1.27. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 37.91% and a return on equity of 39.74%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $5.33 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms will post 25.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is currently 8.36%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Aaron Anderson sold 731 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $557.00, for a total transaction of $407,167.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,414 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,901,598. This trade represents a 17.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 901 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $567.70, for a total value of $511,497.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 30,581 shares in the company, valued at $17,360,833.70. This represents a 2.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 661,804 shares of company stock worth $407,745,741. 13.71% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of META. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 57,001.5% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 9,517,111 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $5,447,975,000 after buying an additional 9,500,444 shares during the period. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 61,769.3% in the third quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC now owns 4,132,870 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,365,820,000 after acquiring an additional 4,126,190 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 87,269.8% in the fourth quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 1,067,659 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $625,125,000 after acquiring an additional 1,066,437 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 4,658.5% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 909,548 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $520,662,000 after acquiring an additional 890,434 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 48,160,608 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $27,470,870,000 after acquiring an additional 698,884 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.