FY2024 EPS Estimate for Meta Platforms Raised by Analyst

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) – Equities researchers at Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their FY2024 earnings per share estimates for Meta Platforms in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, October 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald analyst D. Mathivanan now forecasts 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 target on the stock. The consensus estimate for Meta Platforms’ current full-year earnings is $22.44 per share.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its 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. The firm had revenue of $40.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $40.21 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 35.55% and a return on equity of 35.60%.

Several other research analysts have also commented on the company. DA Davidson initiated coverage on Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price target for the company. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $605.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. TD Cowen increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Citigroup raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $645.00 to $705.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $620.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $634.10.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $572.43 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $556.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $513.67. Meta Platforms has a 52 week low of $313.66 and a 52 week high of $602.95. The company has a quick ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 2.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.45 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.96, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.22.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.35%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.42%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $567.58, for a total value of $234,410.54. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 10,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,842,668.52. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $513.09, for a total transaction of $8,569,629.18. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 98,654 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,618,380.86. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $567.58, for a total transaction of $234,410.54. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 10,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,842,668.52. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 243,919 shares of company stock valued at $129,296,067. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. MQS Management LLC grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 80.0% during the 3rd quarter. MQS Management LLC now owns 830 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $475,000 after purchasing an additional 369 shares during the last quarter. Simmons Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.5% during the third quarter. Simmons Bank now owns 30,771 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $17,615,000 after purchasing an additional 745 shares during the period. Chase Investment Counsel Corp boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 8.3% in the third quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp now owns 18,662 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $10,682,000 after buying an additional 1,435 shares during the last quarter. Souders Financial Advisors increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 17.5% in the 3rd quarter. Souders Financial Advisors now owns 7,308 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $4,183,000 after buying an additional 1,089 shares during the period. Finally, Haverford Trust Co raised its position in Meta Platforms by 8.1% during the 3rd quarter. Haverford Trust Co now owns 7,183 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $4,112,000 after buying an additional 541 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

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.