Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Releases Earnings Results

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The social networking company reported $8.02 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.75 by $1.27, Zacks reports. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 35.55% and a return on equity of 35.60%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $5.33 EPS. Meta Platforms updated its Q1 2025 guidance to EPS.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $703.16 on Thursday. Meta Platforms has a 12 month low of $387.10 and a 12 month high of $694.66. The company has a current ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 2.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $608.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $563.58. The company has a market cap of $1.78 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.19.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 9.42%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

META has been the subject of several research reports. Roth Mkm lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $620.00 to $635.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Barclays raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $630.00 to $705.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $730.00 to $720.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $660.00 to $710.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-six have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $673.43.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $567.58, for a total value of $234,410.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 10,294 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,842,668.52. This represents a 3.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 35,921 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $607.97, for a total transaction of $21,838,890.37. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 661,312 shares of company stock worth $407,377,422. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Meta Platforms

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.