Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Trading 2.2% Higher – What’s Next?

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) shares 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 mid-day 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 firms have recently commented on META. KeyCorp lowered their price target on Meta Platforms from $905.00 to $875.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $875.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $685.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $875.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $823.93.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.63 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $686.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $705.83.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The social networking company reported $7.25 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.74 by $0.51. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 39.35% and a net margin of 30.89%.The company had revenue of $51.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $49.34 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $6.03 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Meta Platforms has set its Q4 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $624.14, for a total transaction of $323,928.66. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 31,253 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,506,247.42. This represents a 1.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Aaron Anderson sold 726 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the chief accounting officer owned 6,035 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,570,306. This represents a 10.74% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 41,959 shares of company stock worth $26,759,811 over the last three months. Insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in META. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 34,551 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $20,230,000 after buying an additional 570 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,456 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $5,537,000 after acquiring an additional 875 shares during the last quarter. Smart Money Group LLC lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 20.4% during the first quarter. Smart Money Group LLC now owns 2,052 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,182,000 after acquiring an additional 348 shares during the period. Aspire Growth Partners LLC boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 7.3% in the first quarter. Aspire Growth Partners LLC now owns 662 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $395,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kranot Hishtalmut Le Morim Ve Gananot Havera Menahelet LTD grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 13.5% in the 1st quarter. Kranot Hishtalmut Le Morim Ve Gananot Havera Menahelet LTD now owns 44,298 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $25,518,000 after purchasing an additional 5,277 shares during the period. 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.