DA Davidson Raises Earnings Estimates for Meta Platforms

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) – Research analysts at DA Davidson increased their FY2024 EPS estimates for Meta Platforms in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, October 31st. DA Davidson analyst G. Luria now forecasts that the social networking company will earn $22.26 per share for the year, up from their previous estimate of $21.45. DA Davidson currently has a “Buy” rating and a $600.00 target price on the stock. The consensus estimate for Meta Platforms’ current full-year earnings is $21.47 per share. DA Davidson also issued estimates for Meta Platforms’ Q4 2024 earnings at $6.39 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $24.68 EPS.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.19 by $0.84. The business had revenue of $40.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $40.21 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 35.55% and a return on equity of 36.26%.

META has been the subject of several other reports. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $570.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Roth Mkm upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $620.00 to $635.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $645.00 to $705.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $570.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $634.10.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of META stock opened at $567.16 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.43 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.22. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $555.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $513.03. The company has a current ratio of 2.83, a quick ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. Meta Platforms has a twelve month low of $308.33 and a twelve month high of $602.95.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings 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 buying an additional 58 shares during the period. POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the second quarter worth about $38,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 122.2% in 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 period. Halpern Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the third quarter worth about $46,000. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the third quarter worth about $49,000. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 901 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $451.15, for a total value of $406,486.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 33,324 shares in the company, valued at $15,034,122.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 420 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.17, for a total transaction of $252,071.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 518,004 shares in the company, valued at approximately $310,890,460.68. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 901 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $451.15, for a total transaction of $406,486.15. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 33,324 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,034,122.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 251,993 shares of company stock worth $133,271,982 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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

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.