Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) - Analysts at Zacks Research increased their Q3 2024 earnings estimates for shares of Meta Platforms in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, August 21st. Zacks Research analyst A. Ganguly now forecasts that the social networking company will post earnings of $4.95 per share for the quarter, up from their previous forecast of $4.82. The consensus estimate for Meta Platforms' current full-year earnings is $20.50 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Meta Platforms' Q4 2024 earnings at $5.86 EPS, FY2024 earnings at $20.67 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $5.03 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $5.46 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $5.76 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $6.50 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $22.74 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $5.92 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $6.34 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $26.52 EPS.
A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on META. Roth Mkm boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $510.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and set a $525.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $522.00 to $555.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, thirty-three have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Meta Platforms presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $574.41.
Read Our Latest Report on Meta Platforms
Meta Platforms Trading Down 0.7 %
Meta Platforms stock traded down $3.93 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $528.00. 11,304,691 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 16,221,447. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.34 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.33, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 2.68 and a current ratio of 2.83. Meta Platforms has a fifty-two week low of $276.03 and a fifty-two week high of $544.23. The firm's 50 day moving average is $502.48 and its 200-day moving average is $490.42.
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.70 by $0.46. The business had revenue of $39.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.26 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 34.16% and a net margin of 34.34%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.23 earnings per share.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. VCI Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth about $1,205,000. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 909,590 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $321,959,000 after acquiring an additional 54,777 shares in the last quarter. Jackson Hole Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Jackson Hole Capital Partners LLC now owns 13,952 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $4,938,000 after acquiring an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC raised its position in Meta Platforms by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC now owns 74,237 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $26,277,000 after purchasing an additional 4,510 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AM Investment Strategies LLC lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. AM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 25,581 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $9,055,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company's stock.
Insider Activity at Meta Platforms
In other Meta Platforms news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,950 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $526.76, for a total value of $4,714,502.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 74,579 shares in the company, valued at $39,285,234.04. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $476.69, for a total transaction of $431,404.45. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 42,370 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,197,355.30. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,950 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $526.76, for a total transaction of $4,714,502.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 74,579 shares in the company, valued at $39,285,234.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 418,680 shares of company stock worth $211,992,147. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company's stock.
Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is presently 11.49%.
About Meta Platforms
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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.
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