Roth Capital Weighs in on Meta Platforms, Inc.’s Q3 2024 Earnings (NASDAQ:META)

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) – Investment analysts at Roth Capital lowered their Q3 2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Meta Platforms in a note issued to investors on Thursday, April 25th. Roth Capital analyst R. Kulkarni now expects that the social networking company will earn $5.03 per share for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $5.15. The consensus estimate for Meta Platforms’ current full-year earnings is $20.20 per share. Roth Capital also issued estimates for Meta Platforms’ FY2025 earnings at $23.64 EPS.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on META. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $520.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Meta Platforms from $609.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Benchmark reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Wolfe Research decreased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $545.00 target price (down from $600.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, thirty-seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $509.18.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of Meta Platforms stock opened at $443.29 on Monday. Meta Platforms has a 1 year low of $229.85 and a 1 year high of $531.49. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $494.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $405.39. The company has a market cap of $1.13 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.46, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a current ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

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

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 19,681 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 19,681 shares of the 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 566 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $404.00, for a total transaction of $228,664.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 34,720 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,026,880. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,277,048 shares of company stock worth $620,679,759. Insiders own 13.75% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Stone House Investment Management LLC grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter worth $44,000. Clear Investment Research LLC increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 411.1% during the 4th quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 92 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the period. Finally, Gilfoyle & Co LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

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.