Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Stock Price Up 8.1% After Earnings Beat

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)’s stock price was up 8.1% during mid-day trading on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock traded as high as $527.17 and last traded at $513.51. Approximately 16,430,061 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 1% from the average daily volume of 16,187,854 shares. The stock had previously closed at $474.83.

The social networking company reported $5.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.70 by $0.46. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.06% and a return on equity of 32.03%. The business had revenue of $39.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.26 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.23 earnings per share. Meta Platforms’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 11.49%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

META has been the subject of a number of research reports. Roth Mkm increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $500.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $570.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Raymond James raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 1st. Loop Capital reissued a “buy” rating and set a $550.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. Finally, TD Securities upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $600.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, thirty-four have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $559.42.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead 905 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead 905 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 30th. The was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 490 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $445.93, for a total value of $218,505.70. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 6,109 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,724,186.37. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 311,175 shares of company stock valued at $154,616,712 over the last quarter. 13.71% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Meta Platforms by 527.3% in the 1st quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter valued at about $38,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in Meta Platforms by 122.2% during the 2nd quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 80 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 95.6% in the first quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 88 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $1.28 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.21. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $493.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $477.38. The company has a current ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

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.