Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Trading 0% Higher – Should You Buy?

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)’s share price was up 0% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $518.18 and last traded at $510.53. Approximately 7,513,617 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 48% from the average daily volume of 14,531,262 shares. The stock had previously closed at $510.45.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on META. Pivotal Research upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on Meta Platforms from $775.00 to $610.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $688.00 to $765.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $786.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $701.38.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 0.5 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.38 trillion, a P/E ratio of 22.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.98 and a quick ratio of 2.98. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $631.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $609.28.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.75 by $1.27. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.17% and a net margin of 37.91%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $5.33 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.39%. This is a boost from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is currently 8.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $606.77, for a total value of $250,596.01. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 16,688 shares in the company, valued at $10,125,777.76. This represents a 2.42 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $543.39, for a total value of $500,462.19. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 29,340 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,943,062.60. The trade was a 3.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 487,453 shares of company stock worth $326,680,904 in the last three months. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth $40,000. Avondale Wealth Management bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth about $43,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at about $47,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently 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.