Meta Platforms (META) Set to Announce Earnings on Wednesday

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) is scheduled to be posting its quarterly earnings results after the market closes on Wednesday, October 30th. Analysts expect Meta Platforms to post earnings of $5.15 per share for the quarter. Meta Platforms has set its Q3 2024 guidance at EPS.Investors interested in listening to the company’s conference call can do so using this link.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) 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 business had revenue of $39.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.26 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 34.34% and a return on equity of 34.16%. Meta Platforms’s quarterly revenue was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.23 EPS. On average, analysts expect Meta Platforms to post $21 EPS for the current fiscal year and $24 EPS for the next fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META opened at $582.01 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.83 and a quick ratio of 2.83. Meta Platforms has a one year low of $279.40 and a one year high of $602.95. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $547.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $509.22. The company has a market capitalization of $1.48 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.22.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.34%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 11.49%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $560.00 to $655.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $555.00 to $636.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $619.20.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 412 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $463.00, for a total transaction of $190,756.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 5,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,573,817. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 33,018 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $517.94, for a total value of $17,101,342.92. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 412 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $463.00, for a total transaction of $190,756.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 5,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,573,817. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 250,324 shares of company stock valued at $132,218,368 over the last three months. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.