Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) shares gapped up prior to trading on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $549.00, but opened at $592.08. Meta Platforms shares last traded at $575.01, with a volume of 7,898,467 shares traded.
The social networking company reported $6.43 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.33 by $1.10. The business had revenue of $42.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $41.45 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 37.91% and a return on equity of 38.17%. The company's revenue was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.71 earnings per share.
Meta Platforms Increases Dividend
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. This is a boost from Meta Platforms's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.35%. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is presently 8.19%.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Susquehanna reduced their price target on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $700.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Guggenheim lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $725.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $720.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $645.00 to $655.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $696.45.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on Meta Platforms
Insider Buying and Selling
In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $545.17, for a total transaction of $502,101.57. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 26,577 shares in the company, valued at $14,488,983.09. The trade was a 3.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 608 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $555.54, for a total value of $337,768.32. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 3,798 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,109,940.92. This represents a 13.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 237,017 shares of company stock valued at $167,207,524 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 13.71% of the company's stock.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms
Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Ballentine Partners LLC increased its position in Meta Platforms by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 58,218 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $34,087,000 after buying an additional 808 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 140,585 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $82,314,000 after purchasing an additional 897 shares during the last quarter. Brueske Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth about $459,000. Apollon Financial LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms by 11.1% during the 4th quarter. Apollon Financial LLC now owns 1,479 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $866,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 255.9% in the fourth quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 1,709,694 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $1,001,044,000 after buying an additional 1,229,350 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.
Meta Platforms Trading Up 4.3 %
The firm's 50 day moving average price is $575.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $603.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.98 and a quick ratio of 2.98. The stock has a market cap of $1.51 trillion, a P/E ratio of 24.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.24.
About Meta Platforms
(
Get Free Report)
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.
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