Q2 2024 EPS Estimates for Meta Platforms, Inc. Lowered by Wedbush (NASDAQ:META)

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) – Equities researchers at Wedbush cut their Q2 2024 earnings estimates for shares of Meta Platforms in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, April 25th. Wedbush analyst S. Devitt now anticipates that the social networking company will post earnings of $4.40 per share for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $5.01. Wedbush currently has a “Outperform” rating and a $480.00 price objective on the stock. The consensus estimate for Meta Platforms’ current full-year earnings is $20.20 per share. Wedbush also issued estimates for Meta Platforms’ Q4 2024 earnings at $5.62 EPS, FY2024 earnings at $19.16 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $21.19 EPS.

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

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on the company. Guggenheim lowered their price objective on Meta Platforms from $520.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $570.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their target price on Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $575.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Raymond James reduced their price target on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $525.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $585.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. One equities research 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $509.18.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Meta Platforms stock opened at $443.29 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.13 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.68 and a quick ratio of 2.67. Meta Platforms has a 12-month low of $229.85 and a 12-month high of $531.49. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $494.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $405.39.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Artemis Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter worth approximately $3,156,000. Tenon Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the first quarter worth approximately $239,000. Guardian Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the first quarter valued at approximately $221,000. Treasure Coast Financial Planning acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter worth $203,000. Finally, Finer Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.3% during the first quarter. Finer Wealth Management Inc. now owns 13,558 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $6,583,000 after acquiring an additional 437 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $522.00, for a total transaction of $305,370.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 38,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,043,756. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $522.00, for a total value of $305,370.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 38,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,043,756. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 19,681 shares of the business’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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,277,048 shares of company stock worth $620,679,759 in the last ninety days. 13.75% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Investors 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 yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 21st. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.