Equities Analysts Set Expectations for Meta Platforms, Inc.’s Q2 2024 Earnings (NASDAQ:META)

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) – Analysts at Seaport Res Ptn decreased their Q2 2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Meta Platforms in a research report issued on Wednesday, April 24th. Seaport Res Ptn analyst A. Kessler now forecasts that the social networking company will earn $4.72 per share for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $4.83. The consensus estimate for Meta Platforms’ current full-year earnings is $20.20 per share. Seaport Res Ptn also issued estimates for Meta Platforms’ Q3 2024 earnings at $4.75 EPS, Q4 2024 earnings at $6.00 EPS, FY2024 earnings at $20.19 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $22.36 EPS.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on META. KeyCorp decreased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $575.00 to $555.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $375.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $570.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $590.00 to $565.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $450.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, thirty-seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $509.18.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $430.17 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $492.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $406.97. The stock has a market cap of $1.10 trillion, a PE ratio of 24.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 2.68 and a current ratio of 2.68. Meta Platforms has a one year low of $229.85 and a one year high of $531.49.

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

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 22nd were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 21st. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 11.49%.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 34,398 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $457.52, for a total transaction of $15,737,772.96. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 34,398 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $457.52, for a total value of $15,737,772.96. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 10,956 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $473.28, for a total value of $5,185,255.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 76,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $36,157,645.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,257,291 shares of company stock valued at $612,916,087. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 451,581 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $159,841,000 after acquiring an additional 32,423 shares during the period. Bank of Stockton boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 9.2% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Stockton now owns 4,743 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,819,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the period. Signify Wealth acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $228,000. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 223,788 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $79,212,000 after acquiring an additional 4,025 shares during the period. Finally, Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. now owns 10,962 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $3,880,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.