Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.39 EPS

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) posted its earnings results on Wednesday. The social networking company reported $4.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.32 by $0.39, reports. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.06% and a return on equity of 32.37%. The firm had revenue of $36.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.28 billion. Meta Platforms updated its Q2 2024 guidance to EPS.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

META stock opened at $442.37 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 2.67. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $495.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $403.40. The company has a market capitalization of $1.13 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.35, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.20. Meta Platforms has a 1-year low of $229.85 and a 1-year high of $531.49.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company 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. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.45%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is currently 11.49%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

META has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $535.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Needham & Company LLC reissued an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday. Rosenblatt Securities raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $520.00 to $562.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $425.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $397.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, thirty-eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $509.18.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 97,093 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $469.67, for a total value of $45,601,669.31. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 97,093 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $469.67, for a total value of $45,601,669.31. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 490 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $488.03, for a total transaction of $239,134.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 79,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,015,070.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,349,148 shares of company stock worth $649,552,559 over the last three months. 13.75% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. Stone House Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 625.0% during 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. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the first quarter valued at about $44,000. Clear Investment Research LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 411.1% during the fourth quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 92 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gilfoyle & Co LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.