DA Davidson Comments on Meta Platforms FY2026 Earnings

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) – DA Davidson issued their FY2026 earnings per share estimates for Meta Platforms in a report issued on Tuesday, April 15th. DA Davidson analyst G. Luria anticipates that the social networking company will earn $26.81 per share for the year. DA Davidson currently has a “Buy” rating and a $650.00 price objective on the stock. The consensus estimate for Meta Platforms’ current full-year earnings is $26.70 per share.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 quarter in the previous year, the business posted $5.33 EPS.

META has been the topic of a number of other research reports. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $750.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Wolfe Research lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $670.00 to $730.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and issued a $811.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Pivotal Research lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a “buy” 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 assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $684.10.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of META opened at $501.48 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $612.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $607.32. The company has a quick ratio of 2.98, a current ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Meta Platforms has a twelve month low of $414.50 and a twelve month high of $740.91. The stock has a market cap of $1.27 trillion, a PE ratio of 20.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.28.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,000. Avondale Wealth Management purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth approximately $43,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 608 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $488.18, for a total transaction of $296,813.44. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 5,622 shares in the company, valued at $2,744,547.96. The trade was a 9.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $531.22, for a total value of $489,253.62. Following the sale, the insider now owns 28,419 shares in the company, valued at $15,096,741.18. This represents a 3.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 379,901 shares of company stock worth $260,806,516 over the last quarter. 13.71% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.42%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 8.78%.

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.