Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Downgraded by Oppenheimer to Market Perform

Oppenheimer lowered shares of Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) from an outperform rating to a market perform rating in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning, MarketBeat.com reports.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on META. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $845.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Pivotal Research upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $830.00 to $930.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Citizens Jmp boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $808.00 to $880.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, HSBC upgraded Meta Platforms from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $610.00 to $900.00 in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-seven have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $827.60.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $666.47 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $740.41 and a 200-day moving average of $695.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.67 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.44, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.97, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Meta Platforms has a 12 month low of $479.80 and a 12 month high of $796.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The social networking company reported $7.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.74 by $0.51. The business had revenue of $51.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $49.34 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 30.89% and a return on equity of 39.69%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 26.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $6.03 EPS. Meta Platforms has set its Q4 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Meta Platforms will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 22nd were given a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 22nd. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is 9.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 18,332 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $764.71, for a total transaction of $14,018,663.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 84,141 shares in the company, valued at $64,343,464.11. This represents a 17.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $775.95, for a total transaction of $46,557,000.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 237,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $184,059,219.75. This trade represents a 20.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 198,335 shares of company stock valued at $153,047,009. Insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of META. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Bare Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the second quarter worth $30,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the first quarter worth $33,000. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 237.5% in the second quarter. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC now owns 54 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Finally, Briaud Financial Planning Inc acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the second quarter worth $42,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Meta Platforms

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.