Sanford C. Bernstein Trims Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Target Price to $565.00

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) had its target price decreased by research analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein from $590.00 to $565.00 in a report released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “outperform” rating on the social networking company’s stock. Sanford C. Bernstein’s target price points to a potential upside of 27.46% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on META. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $450.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $545.00 target price (down from $600.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday. Benchmark restated a “hold” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Meta Platforms from $585.00 to $540.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Tigress Financial raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $435.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, thirty-eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $509.18.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 0.4 %

META stock opened at $443.29 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $494.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $404.27. Meta Platforms has a fifty-two week low of $229.85 and a fifty-two week high of $531.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 2.67 and a current ratio of 2.67. The firm has a market cap of $1.13 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.20.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.32 by $0.39. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.06% and a return on equity of 32.37%. The firm had revenue of $36.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.28 billion. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms will post 20.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $522.00, for a total value of $305,370.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 38,398 shares in the company, valued at $20,043,756. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 6,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $400.00, for a total transaction of $2,600,000.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 68,935 shares in the company, valued at $27,574,000. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $522.00, for a total value of $305,370.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 38,398 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,043,756. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,349,148 shares of company stock worth $649,552,559 over the last quarter. Insiders own 13.75% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Treasure Coast Financial Planning purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the first quarter worth about $203,000. Finer Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.3% during the first quarter. Finer Wealth Management Inc. now owns 13,558 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $6,583,000 after acquiring an additional 437 shares during the last quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 6.5% during the first quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,067 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,128,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 63.3% during the first quarter. K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc now owns 25,842 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $12,548,000 after purchasing an additional 10,020 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 11.4% during the first quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP now owns 4,543 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,206,000 after purchasing an additional 465 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

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.