Zacks Research Lifts Earnings Estimates for Meta Platforms

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) – Equities researchers at Zacks Research lifted their Q2 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Meta Platforms in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, February 19th. Zacks Research analyst A. Ganguly now forecasts that the social networking company will earn $5.73 per share for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $5.72. The consensus estimate for Meta Platforms’ current full-year earnings is $26.70 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Meta Platforms’ Q3 2025 earnings at $6.27 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $7.64 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $24.94 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $6.59 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $8.23 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $27.96 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $30.97 EPS.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.75 by $1.27. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.17% and a net margin of 37.91%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.33 EPS.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on META. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $770.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $620.00 to $660.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $660.00 to $725.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $770.00 target price (up previously from $700.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $719.26.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 1.6 %

META opened at $683.62 on Friday. Meta Platforms has a one year low of $414.50 and a one year high of $740.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.73 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.20. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $647.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $591.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a current ratio of 2.98.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $565.30, for a total transaction of $511,596.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 37,790 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,362,687. This trade represents a 2.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $562.77, for a total value of $232,424.01. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 19,579 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,018,473.83. This represents a 2.07 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 810,217 shares of company stock worth $523,808,864 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in META. AMF Tjanstepension AB grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 32.5% during the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 457,092 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $261,680,000 after buying an additional 112,047 shares during the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 17.9% in the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 1,652 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $946,000 after purchasing an additional 251 shares in the last quarter. Evernest Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 13.5% in the 3rd quarter. Evernest Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,543 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $883,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. Waterway Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 146.1% in the 3rd quarter. Waterway Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,137 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $651,000 after purchasing an additional 675 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Townsend Asset Management Corp NC ADV boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. Townsend Asset Management Corp NC ADV now owns 1,095 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $627,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

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.