FY2027 EPS Forecast for Meta Platforms Raised by Analyst

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) – Research analysts at Erste Group Bank increased their FY2027 EPS estimates for Meta Platforms in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, July 15th. Erste Group Bank analyst H. Engel now forecasts that the social networking company will earn $34.92 per share for the year, up from their previous estimate of $34.70. Erste Group Bank currently has a “Buy” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Meta Platforms’ current full-year earnings is $29.42 per share.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.67 by $3.77. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.84% and a return on equity of 36.93%. The business had revenue of $56.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.56 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $6.43 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis.

META has been the subject of several other reports. Roth Capital restated a “buy” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen cut Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued an “overweight” rating for the company. Benchmark began coverage on Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $810.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, June 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have given a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $830.45.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META stock opened at $664.54 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 2.35 and a quick ratio of 2.35. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $602.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $626.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.68 trillion, a P/E ratio of 24.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.25. Meta Platforms has a 12 month low of $520.26 and a 12 month high of $796.25.

Institutional Trading of Meta Platforms

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in META. Auto Owners Insurance Co increased its position in Meta Platforms by 76,587.7% in the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 105,292,277 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $69,502,379,000 after buying an additional 105,154,977 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at $22,152,075,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 199,995,630 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $132,015,115,000 after acquiring an additional 7,269,279 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 488.1% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 5,466,595 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $3,608,445,000 after acquiring an additional 4,537,076 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 90,841,345 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $59,963,463,000 after acquiring an additional 4,395,763 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 3,348 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.97, for a total value of $2,012,047.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 9,498 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,708,013.06. The trade was a 26.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 2,079 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $609.92, for a total transaction of $1,268,023.68. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 1,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $681,890.56. This represents a 65.03% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 39,503 shares of company stock valued at $24,241,859. Corporate insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th were issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is 7.63%.

Key Stories Impacting Meta Platforms

Here are the key news stories impacting Meta Platforms this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Meta is reportedly weighing a cloud push and plans to hire Dave Brown, a top Amazon Web Services executive, which suggests it wants to strengthen its enterprise and AI infrastructure strategy. Meta Plans to Hire Top Amazon Computing Executive as it Weighs Cloud Push
• Positive Sentiment: Several articles highlighted Meta as a major AI winner, with analysts and market commentators citing upside potential tied to its AI boom, custom chips, and massive data center spending. How Meta Platforms (META) Is Strengthening Its AI Infrastructure With Custom Chips and Massive Computing Expansion
• Positive Sentiment: Meta continues to attract bullish attention from investors and media coverage, including commentary that the stock may have meaningful upside from current levels. Muse Image: Can Meta Platforms Inc (META) Kill Two Birds With One Stone?
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta’s AI chatbot now alerts parents if teens discuss suicide or self-harm, a safety-focused product update that may help reduce regulatory and reputational risk but is unlikely to move the stock much on its own. Meta now alerts parents if their teen discussed suicide or self-harm with its AI chatbot
• Neutral Sentiment: Wedbush initiated coverage with a neutral rating and a $671 price target, signaling a cautious but not bearish stance from analysts. Benzinga coverage of Wedbush initiation
• Negative Sentiment: Meta is still facing investor concern over its aggressive AI capital spending, with commentary warning that the company is “spending like an infrastructure company” while being valued like a growth stock. Meta Is Betting $50 Billion on AI Data Centers. Where Does The Stock Go From Here?
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that 26 employees are suing Meta over alleged AI-driven layoffs targeting workers on leave add legal and reputational overhang. Meta employees sue over alleged AI-driven layoffs targeting workers on leave

About Meta Platforms

Meta Platforms, Inc (NASDAQ: META), formerly Facebook, Inc, is a global technology company best known for building social networking services and immersive computing platforms. Founded in 2004 and headquartered in Menlo Park, California, the company operates a family of consumer-facing products and services that connect users, creators and businesses. In October 2021 the company rebranded as Meta to reflect an expanded strategic focus on augmented and virtual reality technologies alongside its social media businesses.

Meta’s core consumer products include Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger, which enable social networking, messaging, content sharing and community building across mobile and desktop devices.