Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Hits New 52-Week High After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Key Points

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Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week high on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock traded as high as $784.75 and last traded at $777.31, with a volume of 14502050 shares. The stock had previously closed at $695.21.

The social networking company reported $7.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.75 by $1.39. The firm had revenue of $47.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $44.55 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 40.31% and a net margin of 39.99%. The company's revenue was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.16 EPS.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is 8.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

META has been the topic of a number of research reports. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $640.00 to $810.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $720.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. KeyCorp raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $905.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Rosenblatt Securities increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $846.00 to $918.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $780.00 to $860.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, forty have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $815.09.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 465 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $723.08, for a total transaction of $336,232.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 9,342 shares in the company, valued at $6,755,013.36. This trade represents a 4.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $715.00, for a total value of $369,655.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 5,785 shares in the company, valued at $4,136,275. This represents a 8.20% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 152,980 shares of company stock valued at $105,708,832 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of META. Csenge Advisory Group raised its position in Meta Platforms by 12.0% during the 1st quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 9,539 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $5,498,000 after buying an additional 1,019 shares during the last quarter. Suvretta Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Suvretta Capital Management LLC now owns 170,338 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $99,735,000 after buying an additional 1,850 shares during the period. Skye Global Management LP increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 130.9% during the 4th quarter. Skye Global Management LP now owns 76,200 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $44,616,000 after buying an additional 43,200 shares during the period. ARQ Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. ARQ Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 785 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $452,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JMG Financial Group Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter worth about $284,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 2.66, a current ratio of 2.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $699.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $644.61. The company has a market capitalization of $1.90 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.27, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.28.

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.