Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.46 EPS

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The social networking company reported $5.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.70 by $0.46, Briefing.com reports. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 34.34% and a return on equity of 34.63%. The business had revenue of $39.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.23 earnings per share. Meta Platforms’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Meta Platforms updated its Q3 2024 guidance to EPS.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

NASDAQ:META traded down $12.82 on Friday, hitting $484.92. The company had a trading volume of 10,754,612 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,331,230. The company has a current ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. Meta Platforms has a 52 week low of $274.38 and a 52 week high of $542.81. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $493.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $477.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.23 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.79, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.21.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.41%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 11.49%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on META shares. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $565.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $500.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Needham & Company LLC reissued an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $525.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, thirty-three have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Meta Platforms has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $571.84.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 576 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $466.33, for a total value of $268,606.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 36,067 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,819,124.11. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 576 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $466.33, for a total value of $268,606.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 36,067 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,819,124.11. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 4,911 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $471.85, for a total transaction of $2,317,255.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 11,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,373,427.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 310,685 shares of company stock worth $154,398,206. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.