Analysts Issue Forecasts for Meta Platforms, Inc.’s FY2024 Earnings (NASDAQ:META)

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) – Analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald issued their FY2024 earnings per share estimates for Meta Platforms in a report issued on Thursday, September 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald analyst D. Mathivanan forecasts that the social networking company will earn $22.38 per share for the year. Cantor Fitzgerald currently has a “Overweight” rating and a $660.00 target price on the stock. The consensus estimate for Meta Platforms’ current full-year earnings is $21.30 per share.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on META. Roth Mkm lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $510.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $565.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. TD Cowen upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $565.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $620.00 target price for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, thirty-three have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $576.66.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of META stock opened at $500.27 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $505.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $494.12. The stock has a market cap of $1.27 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.73, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.21. Meta Platforms has a 52-week low of $279.40 and a 52-week high of $544.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 2.83 and a current ratio of 2.83.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.70 by $0.46. The company had revenue of $39.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.26 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 34.34% and a return on equity of 34.16%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.23 EPS.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of META. Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Meta Platforms by 24.2% in the fourth quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 835,972 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $295,901,000 after acquiring an additional 163,067 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 3,576,285 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,265,862,000 after purchasing an additional 51,900 shares during the last quarter. Donoghue Forlines LLC grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 94.4% during the fourth quarter. Donoghue Forlines LLC now owns 8,349 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,955,000 after purchasing an additional 4,054 shares during the period. Voyager Global Management LP grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 37.3% during the fourth quarter. Voyager Global Management LP now owns 515,000 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $182,289,000 after purchasing an additional 140,000 shares during the period. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. increased its position in Meta Platforms by 400.0% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. now owns 2,500 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $885,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 901 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $451.15, for a total transaction of $406,486.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 33,324 shares in the company, valued at $15,034,122.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 901 shares of Meta Platforms 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 transaction, the insider now owns 33,324 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,034,122.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,950 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $526.76, for a total value of $4,714,502.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 74,579 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,285,234.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 390,977 shares of company stock worth $202,384,548 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.40%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 11.49%.

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.