Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Trading Up 6.1% on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report)'s stock price was up 6.1% during mid-day trading on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock traded as high as $592.95 and last traded at $582.38. Approximately 15,892,662 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 10% from the average daily volume of 14,393,269 shares. The stock had previously closed at $549.00.

The social networking company reported $6.43 earnings per share 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 return on equity of 38.17% and a net margin of 37.91%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.71 EPS.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.525 dividend. This is an increase 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 dividend yield of 0.36%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is presently 8.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

META has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. KeyCorp upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $645.00 to $655.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $680.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Tigress Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $692.37.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 4,706 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Saturday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $736.67, for a total transaction of $3,466,769.02. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 20,935 shares in the company, valued at $15,422,186.45. This represents a 18.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,553 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Saturday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $736.67, for a total transaction of $6,300,738.51. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 51,793 shares in the company, valued at $38,154,349.31. The trade was a 14.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 249,071 shares of company stock valued at $175,741,082 over the last 90 days. 13.71% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Inlight Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the first quarter worth about $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Avondale Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth about $43,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 6.1 %

The stock has a market cap of $1.48 trillion, a PE ratio of 24.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.28. The business's fifty day moving average is $578.42 and its 200 day moving average is $603.67. The company has a quick ratio of 2.98, a current ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

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.

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