Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) PT Lowered to $565.00 at Sanford C. Bernstein

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) had its price target reduced by equities research analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein from $590.00 to $565.00 in a report released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the social networking company’s stock. Sanford C. Bernstein’s target price indicates a potential upside of 29.47% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $375.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $370.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $535.00 to $480.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Meta Platforms from $609.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, thirty-eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $511.05.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 11.6 %

NASDAQ META traded down $57.09 on Thursday, hitting $436.41. 62,510,959 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 17,928,209. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 2.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.11 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.20. Meta Platforms has a twelve month low of $208.88 and a twelve month high of $531.49. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $495.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $403.14.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.32 by $0.39. The firm had revenue of $36.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.28 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 28.98% and a return on equity of 29.48%. Analysts predict that Meta Platforms will post 20.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 19,681 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $394.76, for a total value of $7,769,271.56. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 19,681 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $394.76, for a total value of $7,769,271.56. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 490 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $488.03, for a total value of $239,134.70. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 79,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,015,070.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,368,244 shares of company stock worth $657,034,449. Company insiders own 13.75% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of META. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 451,581 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $159,841,000 after acquiring an additional 32,423 shares during the period. Bank of Stockton grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 9.2% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Stockton now owns 4,743 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,819,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period. Signify Wealth purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at $228,000. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 223,788 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $79,212,000 after purchasing an additional 4,025 shares during the period. Finally, Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. now owns 10,962 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $3,880,000 after buying an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

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.