Meta Platforms (META) to Release Earnings on Wednesday

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) will be posting its quarterly earnings results after the market closes on Wednesday, April 24th. Analysts expect Meta Platforms to post earnings of $4.27 per share for the quarter. Meta Platforms has set its Q1 2024 guidance at EPS.Individual that wish to register for the company’s earnings conference call can do so using this link.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The social networking company reported $5.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.82 by $0.51. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 29.48% and a net margin of 28.98%. The business had revenue of $40.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.12 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.00 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect Meta Platforms to post $20 EPS for the current fiscal year and $23 EPS for the next fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 0.1 %

META stock opened at $481.73 on Tuesday. Meta Platforms has a twelve month low of $207.13 and a twelve month high of $531.49. The company has a market cap of $1.23 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.20. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $494.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $401.23. The company has a quick ratio of 2.67, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 22nd were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 21st. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.42%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 19,681 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $392.36, for a total value of $7,722,037.16. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 566 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $404.00, for a total value of $228,664.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 34,720 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,026,880. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 19,681 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $392.36, for a total transaction of $7,722,037.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,391,935 shares of company stock valued at $666,288,408. Company insiders own 14.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wolfe Research lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $430.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. 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. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $450.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $425.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $535.00 to $590.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, thirty-eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $520.28.

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.