Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Expected to Post Q1 2024 Earnings of $4.35 Per Share

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) – Investment analysts at Wedbush lifted their Q1 2024 earnings per share estimates for shares of Meta Platforms in a note issued to investors on Thursday, April 11th. Wedbush analyst S. Devitt now anticipates that the social networking company will post earnings of $4.35 per share for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $4.10. Wedbush has a “Outperform” rating and a $520.00 price objective on the stock. The consensus estimate for Meta Platforms’ current full-year earnings is $20.06 per share. Wedbush also issued estimates for Meta Platforms’ Q2 2024 earnings at $5.01 EPS and FY2024 earnings at $20.40 EPS.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on the company. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $425.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. JMP Securities lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $410.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $590.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $405.00 to $525.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $397.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, thirty-eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $509.28.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

NASDAQ META opened at $499.76 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $493.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $396.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.27 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.54, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.20. Meta Platforms has a fifty-two week low of $207.13 and a fifty-two week high of $531.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 2.67 and a current ratio of 2.67.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The social networking company reported $5.33 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.82 by $0.51. The company had revenue of $40.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $39.12 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 29.48% and a net margin of 28.98%. The firm’s revenue was up 24.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.00 EPS.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 22nd were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 21st. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.42%.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 566 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $385.00, for a total value of $217,910.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 35,286 shares in the company, valued at $13,585,110. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 490 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $516.51, for a total transaction of $253,089.90. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 8,069 shares in the company, valued at $4,167,719.19. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 566 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $385.00, for a total value of $217,910.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 35,286 shares in the company, valued at $13,585,110. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 1,439,788 shares of company stock worth $684,542,792. Insiders own 14.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Meta Platforms

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of META. Stone House Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 625.0% in the third quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 87 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the second quarter valued at $30,000. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 68.9% in the third quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 103 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. 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.