FY2024 EPS Estimates for Meta Platforms, Inc. Boosted by Cantor Fitzgerald (NASDAQ:META)

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) – Equities research analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their FY2024 EPS estimates for Meta Platforms in a research note issued on Monday, October 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald analyst D. Mathivanan now expects that the social networking company will post earnings per share of $22.46 for the year, up from their prior estimate of $22.38. Cantor Fitzgerald currently has a “Overweight” rating and a $660.00 price objective on the stock. The consensus estimate for Meta Platforms’ current full-year earnings is $21.37 per share.

META has been the subject of a number of other reports. Loop Capital boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Pivotal Research began coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $780.00 target price on the stock. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $570.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $609.71.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of Meta Platforms stock opened at $589.95 on Thursday. Meta Platforms has a 1 year low of $279.40 and a 1 year high of $602.95. The firm has a market cap of $1.49 trillion, a PE ratio of 30.11, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.83 and a quick ratio of 2.83. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $538.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $505.52.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.70 by $0.46. The firm had revenue of $39.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.26 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 34.34% and a return on equity of 34.16%. The company’s revenue was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.23 earnings per share.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 527.3% in the first quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter worth $38,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 122.2% during the 2nd quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 80 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. increased its position in Meta Platforms by 95.6% during the 1st quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 88 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter worth about $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 901 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $451.15, for a total transaction of $406,486.15. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,324 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,034,122.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 901 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $451.15, for a total value of $406,486.15. Following the sale, the insider now owns 33,324 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,034,122.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 1,712 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $502.27, for a total transaction of $859,886.24. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 129,888 shares in the company, valued at $65,238,845.76. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 252,443 shares of company stock valued at $133,105,284. Insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.34%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.21%.

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.