FY2024 EPS Estimates for Meta Platforms Boosted by Analyst

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) – Equities researchers at Seaport Res Ptn boosted their FY2024 earnings per share estimates for Meta Platforms in a report released on Wednesday, October 30th. Seaport Res Ptn analyst A. Kessler now anticipates that the social networking company will earn $22.93 per share for the year, up from their prior forecast of $21.54. The consensus estimate for Meta Platforms’ current full-year earnings is $22.44 per share. Seaport Res Ptn also issued estimates for Meta Platforms’ Q4 2024 earnings at $7.02 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $25.78 EPS.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on META. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $670.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $620.00 to $660.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $570.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $652.00 to $641.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $634.10.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 2.1 %

META stock opened at $572.43 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.45 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a 50-day moving average of $556.78 and a two-hundred day 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 2.73 and a quick ratio of 2.73.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 35.60%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 187,180,393 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $90,891,055,000 after acquiring an additional 831,047 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.6% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 38,299,316 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $18,597,382,000 after purchasing an additional 244,803 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 14.5% in the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 34,597,001 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $16,799,612,000 after purchasing an additional 4,379,826 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 24.7% in the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 13,867,398 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $6,733,731,000 after purchasing an additional 2,748,620 shares during the period. Finally, GQG Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.1% during the first quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 11,497,335 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $5,582,876,000 after purchasing an additional 342,742 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $528.51, for a total transaction of $8,827,174.02. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 72,473 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,302,705.23. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $589.97, for a total transaction of $533,922.85. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 33,292 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,641,281.24. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $528.51, for a total value of $8,827,174.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 72,473 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,302,705.23. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 243,919 shares of company stock worth $129,296,067. Insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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