Meta Platforms, Inc. to Post Q3 2024 Earnings of $4.61 Per Share, William Blair Forecasts (NASDAQ:META)

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) – Stock analysts at William Blair increased their Q3 2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Meta Platforms in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, April 24th. William Blair analyst R. Schackart now forecasts that the social networking company will post earnings of $4.61 per share for the quarter, up from their prior forecast of $4.60. The consensus estimate for Meta Platforms’ current full-year earnings is $20.18 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for Meta Platforms’ FY2024 earnings at $19.17 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $5.11 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $5.11 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $5.38 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $6.39 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $22.00 EPS.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.32 by $0.39. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 32.37% and a net margin of 32.06%. The firm had revenue of $36.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.28 billion.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on META. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $585.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $540.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $590.00 to $550.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Benchmark reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $535.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, thirty-eight have assigned 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 an average price target of $509.18.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of META stock opened at $443.29 on Friday. Meta Platforms has a twelve month low of $229.85 and a twelve month high of $531.49. The stock has a market cap of $1.13 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.46, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.20. The business’s fifty day moving average is $494.48 and its 200 day moving average is $404.27. The company has a quick ratio of 2.67, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at about $11,285,855,000. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 4.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 130,809,908 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $39,270,443,000 after purchasing an additional 5,001,647 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 11,154.4% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 4,952,254 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,752,900,000 after acquiring an additional 4,908,251 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 17.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 30,217,175 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $10,695,722,000 after acquiring an additional 4,440,229 shares during the period. Finally, Concentrum Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 111.0% during the fourth quarter. Concentrum Wealth Management now owns 7,391,877 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,616,000 after acquiring an additional 3,888,308 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 19,681 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $393.85, for a total transaction of $7,751,361.85. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 19,681 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $393.85, for a total value of $7,751,361.85. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $491.25, for a total transaction of $287,381.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 37,228 shares in the company, valued at $18,288,255. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,349,148 shares of company stock valued at $649,552,559 in the last ninety days. 13.75% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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. 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 11.49%.

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.