Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) to Post FY2024 Earnings of $22.46 Per Share, Cantor Fitzgerald Forecasts

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) – Cantor Fitzgerald increased their FY2024 earnings per share estimates for Meta Platforms in a research note issued on Monday, October 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald analyst D. Mathivanan now expects that the social networking company will post earnings per share of $22.46 for the year, up from their prior forecast of $22.38. Cantor Fitzgerald has a “Overweight” rating and a $660.00 price target on the stock. The consensus estimate for Meta Platforms’ current full-year earnings is $21.36 per share.

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

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Loop Capital increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. DA Davidson initiated coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price target for the company. KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $560.00 to $655.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, JMP Securities upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $635.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $608.58.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $583.83 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.48 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.22. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $536.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $504.92. Meta Platforms has a 52-week low of $279.40 and a 52-week high of $602.95.

Institutional Trading of Meta Platforms

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Sawyer & Company Inc raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Sawyer & Company Inc now owns 9,149 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $5,237,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 4,592 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,629,000 after buying an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC now owns 9,610 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $5,501,000 after buying an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Willner & Heller LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $361,000. Finally, McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 16.0% during the third quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. now owns 3,645 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,087,000 after acquiring an additional 503 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $589.89, for a total value of $533,850.45. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 34,197 shares in the company, valued at $20,172,468.33. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 412 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $463.00, for a total value of $190,756.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 5,559 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,573,817. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $589.89, for a total transaction of $533,850.45. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 34,197 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,172,468.33. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 252,443 shares of company stock valued at $133,105,284 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.34%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is presently 11.49%.

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.