FY2024 EPS Estimates for Meta Platforms Lowered by Analyst

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) – Equities research analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their FY2024 earnings per share estimates for shares of Meta Platforms in a research report issued on Wednesday, January 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald analyst D. Mathivanan now anticipates that the social networking company will earn $22.67 per share for the year, down from their previous estimate of $22.70. Cantor Fitzgerald currently has a “Overweight” rating and a $720.00 target price on the stock. The consensus estimate for Meta Platforms’ current full-year earnings is $22.96 per share. Cantor Fitzgerald also issued estimates for Meta Platforms’ FY2025 earnings at $25.20 EPS.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Raymond James increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $725.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Pivotal Research upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $780.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $670.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $654.20.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META opened at $636.45 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 2.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. Meta Platforms has a 12-month low of $385.66 and a 12-month high of $638.40. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $600.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $559.30. The firm has a market cap of $1.61 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.19.

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

Institutional Trading of Meta Platforms

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Custom Index Systems LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Custom Index Systems LLC now owns 3,271 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,915,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth $1,785,000. Caprock Group LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 15.1% during the 4th quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 78,115 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $45,738,000 after acquiring an additional 10,259 shares during the last quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 14,422 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $8,444,000 after purchasing an additional 991 shares during the period. Finally, Southern Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Southern Capital Advisors LLC now owns 549 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $321,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $580.10, for a total value of $524,990.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 31,482 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,262,708.20. This trade represents a 2.79 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Aaron Anderson sold 731 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $557.00, for a total value of $407,167.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,414 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,901,598. The trade was a 17.64 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 568,016 shares of company stock worth $346,031,180. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.31%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is 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.