Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Trading 0.3% Higher on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)’s share price traded up 0.3% during trading on Thursday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The company traded as high as $710.79 and last traded at $678.47. 14,382,452 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 3% from the average session volume of 14,821,674 shares. The stock had previously closed at $676.49.

The social networking company reported $8.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.75 by $1.27. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 35.60% and a net margin of 35.55%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $5.33 EPS.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.29%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is presently 9.42%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $670.00 to $775.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $660.00 to $710.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $750.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $811.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Meta Platforms to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-six have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $685.52.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $567.58, for a total value of $234,410.54. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 10,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,842,668.52. This trade represents a 3.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Aaron Anderson sold 731 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $557.00, for a total transaction of $407,167.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,414 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,901,598. The trade was a 17.64 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 661,312 shares of company stock worth $407,377,422 in the last 90 days. 13.71% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Meta Platforms

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,559,000. Quarry LP lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 208.3% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 259 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $131,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. SPC Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. SPC Financial Inc. now owns 1,077 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $543,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. SRN Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 127.4% in the second quarter. SRN Advisors LLC now owns 5,547 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,797,000 after purchasing an additional 3,108 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the second quarter worth $529,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 2.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The company’s fifty day moving average is $608.52 and its 200 day moving average is $563.58. The firm has a market cap of $1.73 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.96, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.19.

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.