Wedbush Weighs in on Meta Platforms, Inc.’s Q2 2024 Earnings (NASDAQ:META)

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) – Research analysts at Wedbush cut their Q2 2024 earnings estimates for shares of Meta Platforms in a note issued to investors on Thursday, April 25th. Wedbush analyst S. Devitt now forecasts that the social networking company will post earnings of $4.40 per share for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $5.01. Wedbush 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 announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.32 by $0.39. The firm had revenue of $36.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.28 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.06% and a return on equity of 32.03%.

META has been the topic of a number of other reports. Citigroup dropped their price target on Meta Platforms from $590.00 to $550.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $550.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, April 22nd. TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $590.00 to $530.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on Meta Platforms from $585.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $575.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. One 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 given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $509.18.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of META stock opened at $443.29 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $494.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $405.39. Meta Platforms has a 1 year low of $229.85 and a 1 year high of $531.49. The company has a current ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.13 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.46, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.20.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Stone House Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 625.0% in the third quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 87 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter valued at about $44,000. Clear Investment Research LLC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 411.1% during the fourth quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 92 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the period. Finally, Gilfoyle & Co LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 566 shares of the company’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 sale, the insider now owns 34,720 shares in the company, valued at $14,026,880. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 34,398 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $457.52, for a total value of $15,737,772.96. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 566 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $404.00, for a total value of $228,664.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 34,720 shares in the company, valued at $14,026,880. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,277,048 shares of company stock valued at $620,679,759. 13.75% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 22nd were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 21st. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.49%.

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.