Citigroup Increases Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Price Target to $645.00

by · The Markets Daily

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META – Get Free Report) had its target price hoisted by investment analysts at Citigroup from $580.00 to $645.00 in a report issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the social networking company’s stock. Citigroup’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 14.50% from the stock’s previous close.

META has been the topic of a number of other reports. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $570.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Loop Capital lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Roth Mkm upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $510.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. DA Davidson started coverage on Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $625.00 to $647.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, thirty-four have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $578.92.

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Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $563.33 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 2.83 and a current ratio of 2.83. The firm has a market cap of $1.43 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.25, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.21. Meta Platforms has a one year low of $279.40 and a one year high of $573.98. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $508.94 and a 200 day moving average of $497.64.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.70 by $0.46. The company had revenue of $39.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.26 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 34.16% and a net margin of 34.34%. Meta Platforms’s revenue was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.23 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Meta Platforms will post 21.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 901 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $451.15, for a total value of $406,486.15. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,324 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,034,122.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 901 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $451.15, for a total transaction of $406,486.15. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 33,324 shares in the company, valued at $15,034,122.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Friday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $560.00, for a total transaction of $231,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 12,772 shares in the company, valued at $7,152,320. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 349,472 shares of company stock valued at $182,544,600 in the last ninety days. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Greater Midwest Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter worth $2,925,000. Centaurus Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 75.1% in the second quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 23,244 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $11,720,000 after purchasing an additional 9,972 shares during the period. Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.4% during the second quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 20,112 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $10,141,000 after buying an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its position in Meta Platforms by 926.6% during the second quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 733,358 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $369,774,000 after buying an additional 661,923 shares during the period. Finally, University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 7.6% in the second quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. now owns 14,495 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $7,309,000 after buying an additional 1,024 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

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