FY2024 EPS Forecast for Meta Platforms Boosted by Analyst

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) - Cantor Fitzgerald increased their FY2024 EPS estimates for shares of Meta Platforms in a research note issued on Thursday, October 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald analyst D. Mathivanan now expects that the social networking company will earn $22.73 per share for the year, up from their prior estimate of $22.46. Cantor Fitzgerald has a "Overweight" rating and a $670.00 price objective on the stock. The consensus estimate for Meta Platforms' current full-year earnings is $21.84 per share.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.19 by $0.84. The firm 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%.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on META. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $530.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday. Susquehanna increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research note on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $570.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, DA Davidson initiated coverage on Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $600.00 target price on the stock. Two investment 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, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $634.10.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of META traded down $6.48 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $560.68. The company had a trading volume of 12,017,135 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,146,720. Meta Platforms has a 1-year low of $313.66 and a 1-year high of $602.95. The company has a quick ratio of 2.83, a current ratio of 2.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $556.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $513.67. The stock has a market cap of $1.42 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.22.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. 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 valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 122.2% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 95.6% in the 1st quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 88 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the period. Finally, Halpern Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the third quarter worth $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 492 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.75, for a total value of $295,569.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 518,508 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $311,493,681. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were 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. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 492 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.75, for a total transaction of $295,569.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 518,508 shares of the company's stock, valued at $311,493,681. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 251,092 shares of company stock valued at $132,865,496 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 13.71% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Stockholders 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 0.36%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.