FY2025 EPS Estimate for Meta Platforms Increased by Analyst

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) – Equities researchers at William Blair upped their FY2025 earnings per share estimates for Meta Platforms in a report released on Wednesday, October 29th. William Blair analyst R. Schackart now forecasts that the social networking company will post earnings of $28.99 per share for the year, up from their previous estimate of $28.14. The consensus estimate for Meta Platforms’ current full-year earnings is $26.70 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for Meta Platforms’ Q3 2026 earnings at $7.69 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $8.99 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $30.19 EPS.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The social networking company reported $7.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.74 by $0.51. The business had revenue of $51.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $49.34 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 39.35% and a net margin of 30.89%.The business’s revenue was up 26.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $6.03 earnings per share. Meta Platforms has set its Q4 2025 guidance at EPS.

META has been the subject of a number of other reports. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $900.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their target price on Meta Platforms from $920.00 to $830.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $875.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $875.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-seven have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $827.60.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $627.32 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $733.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $701.18. The company has a market cap of $1.58 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.20. Meta Platforms has a 12-month low of $479.80 and a 12-month high of $796.25.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 22nd were paid a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 22nd. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is 9.28%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meta Platforms news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 18,332 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $764.71, for a total transaction of $14,018,663.72. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 84,141 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $64,343,464.11. This represents a 17.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $775.00, for a total transaction of $402,225.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 32,946 shares in the company, valued at $25,533,150. The trade was a 1.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 90,609 shares of company stock valued at $69,806,640 in the last three months. Company insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Aspen Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 12.1% in the third quarter. Aspen Capital Management LLC now owns 352 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $259,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 34.2% in the third quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 52,252 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $38,373,000 after buying an additional 13,311 shares during the period. Alta Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 22.7% in the third quarter. Alta Capital Management LLC now owns 85,213 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $62,579,000 after buying an additional 15,743 shares during the period. Valley Brook Capital Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.8% in the third quarter. Valley Brook Capital Group Inc. now owns 3,087 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,267,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. Finally, Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.4% in the third quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 15,621 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $11,472,000 after buying an additional 365 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.