FY2024 EPS Estimates for Meta Platforms Reduced by Analyst

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) – Stock analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their FY2024 earnings per share estimates for Meta Platforms in a report issued on Tuesday, January 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald analyst D. Mathivanan now expects that the social networking company will earn $22.70 per share for the year, down from their previous estimate of $22.73. Cantor Fitzgerald has a “Overweight” rating and a $670.00 price objective on the stock. The consensus estimate for Meta Platforms’ current full-year earnings is $22.68 per share.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $715.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. TD Cowen raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Bank of America upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $630.00 to $660.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $660.00 to $725.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $645.80.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

META opened at $610.72 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.54 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.77, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a quick ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 2.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $591.79 and a 200-day moving average price of $551.75. Meta Platforms has a twelve month low of $355.36 and a twelve month high of $638.40.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.19 by $0.84. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 35.60% and a net margin of 35.55%. The company had revenue of $40.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $40.21 billion.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Legacy Private Trust Co. increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Legacy Private Trust Co. now owns 22,852 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $13,380,000 after purchasing an additional 1,168 shares during the last quarter. Private Client Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 31.9% in the fourth quarter. Private Client Services LLC now owns 2,057 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,205,000 after purchasing an additional 497 shares in the last quarter. Hilltop Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Meta Platforms by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Hilltop Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 446 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $261,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Worth Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 14.4% during the fourth quarter. Worth Asset Management LLC now owns 818 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $479,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Park National Corp OH lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 8.8% during the fourth quarter. Park National Corp OH now owns 7,057 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $4,132,000 after purchasing an additional 572 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, CAO Aaron Anderson sold 731 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $557.00, for a total value of $407,167.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,414 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,901,598. The trade was a 17.64 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 35,921 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $633.25, for a total value of $22,746,973.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 410,949 shares of company stock worth $249,265,810. Corporate insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.33%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.42%.

About Meta Platforms

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.