FY2024 EPS Estimates for Meta Platforms Lifted by Analyst

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) – Roth Capital raised their FY2024 EPS estimates for Meta Platforms in a report issued on Tuesday, January 21st. Roth Capital analyst R. Kulkarni now expects that the social networking company will post earnings per share of $22.49 for the year, up from their prior estimate of $22.40. The consensus estimate for Meta Platforms’ current full-year earnings is $22.96 per share. Roth Capital also issued estimates for Meta Platforms’ Q4 2024 earnings at $6.60 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $5.64 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $6.15 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $6.35 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $7.54 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $25.68 EPS.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Roth Mkm boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $620.00 to $635.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $605.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $715.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $630.00 to $660.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald cut their target price on Meta Platforms from $730.00 to $720.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $652.98.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $623.50 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.57 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.19. Meta Platforms has a fifty-two week low of $382.08 and a fifty-two week high of $638.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 2.73 and a quick ratio of 2.73. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $598.87 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $558.76.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 earnings per share (EPS) 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 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 Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.32%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is presently 9.42%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $574.16, for a total value of $237,128.08. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 10,707 shares in the company, valued at $6,147,531.12. This trade represents a 3.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Nicholas Clegg sold 7,296 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $553.48, for a total transaction of $4,038,190.08. Following the sale, the insider now owns 38,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,416,908.60. This trade represents a 15.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 567,111 shares of company stock valued at $345,453,784 over the last ninety days. 13.71% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. JDM Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Avondale Wealth Management bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. Halpern Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter worth $46,000. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter worth $49,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.