Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Trading 11.2% Higher on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Key Points

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Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) shot up 11.2% on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock traded as high as $784.75 and last traded at $773.34. 19,965,173 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 29% from the average session volume of 15,496,821 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 company had revenue of $47.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $44.55 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 39.99% and a return on equity of 40.31%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $5.16 EPS.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on META shares. HSBC raised Meta Platforms from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $610.00 to $900.00 in a report on Thursday. Needham & Company LLC raised shares of Meta Platforms from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $685.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $775.00 to $900.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, TD Securities reduced their price target on Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $700.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, forty have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $815.09.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $719.86, for a total transaction of $373,607.34. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 25,550 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,392,423. This represents a 1.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 5,785 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,136,275. The trade was a 8.20% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 152,980 shares of company stock valued at $105,708,832. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in META. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 34,551 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $20,230,000 after buying an additional 570 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,456 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $5,537,000 after acquiring an additional 875 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 221,459 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $129,666,000 after acquiring an additional 7,587 shares during the last quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 6,189 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $3,624,000 after acquiring an additional 218 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,243,603,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

The firm's 50 day moving average price is $699.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $644.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.66 and a quick ratio of 2.66. The stock has a market cap of $1.90 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.27, a P/E/G 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.