Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Stock Price Up 2.2% – Time to Buy?

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) traded up 2.2% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $648.05 and last traded at $647.4750. 11,023,805 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 29% from the average session volume of 15,520,330 shares. The stock had previously closed at $633.61.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Raymond James Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating and set a $825.00 price target (down from $900.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $875.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $900.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $875.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $823.93.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $683.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $706.23. The company has a market capitalization of $1.63 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a current ratio of 1.98.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The social networking company reported $7.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 39.35% and a net margin of 30.89%.Meta Platforms’s revenue was up 26.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $6.03 earnings per share. Meta Platforms has set its Q4 2025 guidance at EPS. Analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Meta Platforms news, CAO Aaron Anderson sold 726 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $591.60, for a total value of $429,501.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 6,035 shares in the company, valued at $3,570,306. This represents a 10.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 600 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Monday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $609.35, for a total transaction of $365,610.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 7,347 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,476,894.45. This trade represents a 7.55% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 41,959 shares of company stock worth $26,759,811 over the last ninety days. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Meta Platforms

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of META. Strategic Advocates LLC increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.2% in the third quarter. Strategic Advocates LLC now owns 7,131 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $5,237,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Lantern Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms by 696.0% in the third quarter. Lantern Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 21,101 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $15,496,000 after acquiring an additional 18,450 shares in the last quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 14.2% during the 3rd quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 161 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $118,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter valued at $574,000. Finally, Connors Investor Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Connors Investor Services Inc. now owns 31,341 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $23,016,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.