Brokers Offer Predictions for Meta Platforms, Inc.’s Q3 2024 Earnings (NASDAQ:META)

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) – Stock analysts at Wedbush cut their Q3 2024 earnings per share estimates for shares of Meta Platforms in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, April 25th. Wedbush analyst S. Devitt now expects that the social networking company will post earnings of $4.43 per share for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $4.86. Wedbush has a “Outperform” rating and a $480.00 price objective on the stock. The consensus estimate for Meta Platforms’ current full-year earnings is $20.33 per share.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $575.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Needham & Company LLC reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday. Barclays dropped their target price on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $520.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $397.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Raymond James lowered their price objective on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $525.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, thirty-seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $509.18.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 0.4 %

META opened at $443.29 on Friday. Meta Platforms has a 1-year low of $229.85 and a 1-year high of $531.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.13 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.46, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a current ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $494.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $404.85.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.32 by $0.39. The company had revenue of $36.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.28 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 32.03% and a net margin of 32.06%.

Institutional Trading of Meta Platforms

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in META. Stone House Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 625.0% in the 3rd quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 87 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 68.9% during the third quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 103 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. PayPay Securities Corp increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 65.2% during the third quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 109 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Finally, Clear Investment Research LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 411.1% in the 4th quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 92 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 566 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $404.00, for a total value of $228,664.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 34,720 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,026,880. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 490 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $488.03, for a total value of $239,134.70. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 79,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,015,070.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 566 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $404.00, for a total value of $228,664.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 34,720 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,026,880. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,349,148 shares of company stock valued at $649,552,559 over the last three months. Company insiders own 13.75% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 22nd were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 21st. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is 11.49%.

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.