FY2024 EPS Estimates for Meta Platforms Increased by Analyst

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) – Equities researchers at Seaport Res Ptn upped their FY2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Meta Platforms in a research report issued on Wednesday, October 30th. Seaport Res Ptn analyst A. Kessler now anticipates that the social networking company will earn $22.93 per share for the year, up from their prior forecast of $21.54. The consensus estimate for Meta Platforms’ current full-year earnings is $21.84 per share. Seaport Res Ptn also issued estimates for Meta Platforms’ Q4 2024 earnings at $7.02 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $25.78 EPS.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $670.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Guggenheim increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $665.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $530.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded Meta Platforms to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $634.10.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $567.16 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 2.73 and a quick ratio of 2.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.43 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.22. Meta Platforms has a 1-year low of $308.33 and a 1-year high of $602.95. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $555.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $513.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.19 by $0.84. The firm had revenue of $40.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $40.21 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 35.60% and a net margin of 35.55%.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is currently 9.42%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 84 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.00, for a total value of $50,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 518,424 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $311,054,400. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Peggy Alford sold 1,052 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $479.00, for a total value of $503,908.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 6,168 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,954,472. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 84 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.00, for a total value of $50,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 518,424 shares in the company, valued at $311,054,400. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 251,092 shares of company stock valued at $132,865,496. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Meta Platforms

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in META. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 527.3% in the first quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the second quarter worth $38,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 122.2% during the second quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 80 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 95.6% during the first quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 88 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Halpern Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the third quarter worth $46,000. 79.91% of the stock is 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.