FY2024 EPS Estimates for Meta Platforms Increased by Wedbush

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) – Analysts at Wedbush lifted their FY2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Meta Platforms in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, October 31st. Wedbush analyst S. Devitt now expects that the social networking company will earn $22.77 per share for the year, up from their prior forecast of $21.28. Wedbush has a “Outperform” rating and a $600.00 price objective on the stock. The consensus estimate for Meta Platforms’ current full-year earnings is $22.44 per share. Wedbush also issued estimates for Meta Platforms’ Q4 2024 earnings at $6.88 EPS.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $585.00 to $583.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $620.00 to $660.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $590.00 to $663.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Roth Mkm lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $620.00 to $635.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $634.10.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $572.43 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $1.45 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.22. Meta Platforms has a 1 year low of $313.66 and a 1 year high of $602.95. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $556.78 and a 200-day moving average price of $513.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 2.73 and a quick ratio of 2.73.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in META. Central Valley Advisors LLC grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Central Valley Advisors LLC now owns 5,714 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $3,271,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Cherrydale Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Cherrydale Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,841 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,199,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,787 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,595,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. now owns 1,906 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,099,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its position in Meta Platforms by 0.5% during the third quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 3,560 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,038,000 after buying an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $528.51, for a total value of $8,827,174.02. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 72,473 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,302,705.23. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 5,057 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $526.76, for a total transaction of $2,663,825.32. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now directly owns 11,990 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,315,852.40. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $528.51, for a total value of $8,827,174.02. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 72,473 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,302,705.23. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 243,919 shares of company stock valued at $129,296,067 over the last quarter. 13.71% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.42%.

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.