Q2 2024 EPS Estimates for Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Decreased by William Blair

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) – Research analysts at William Blair cut their Q2 2024 earnings estimates for shares of 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 $4.54 per share for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $4.58. The consensus estimate for Meta Platforms’ current full-year earnings is $20.20 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for Meta Platforms’ Q4 2024 earnings at $5.30 EPS.

META has been the topic of a number of other reports. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $527.00 to $588.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $540.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. KeyCorp reduced their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $575.00 to $555.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $590.00 to $550.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $397.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, thirty-seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $509.18.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $443.29 on Monday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $494.48 and its 200-day moving average is $405.39. The stock has a market cap of $1.13 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.20. Meta Platforms has a twelve month low of $229.85 and a twelve month high of $531.49. The company has a quick ratio of 2.67, a current ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $36.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.28 billion.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Stone House Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 625.0% during the 3rd quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 87 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 68.9% during the 3rd quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 103 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. PayPay Securities Corp increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 65.2% in the 3rd quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 109 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clear Investment Research LLC increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 411.1% in the 4th quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 92 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 19,681 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $393.85, for a total value of $7,751,361.85. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 566 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $404.00, for a total transaction of $228,664.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 34,720 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,026,880. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 19,681 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $393.85, for a total value of $7,751,361.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 1,277,048 shares of company stock worth $620,679,759. 13.75% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 22nd were paid 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 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.