Q1 EPS Estimates for Meta Platforms Reduced by William Blair

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) – Stock analysts at William Blair reduced their Q1 2025 earnings per share estimates for shares of Meta Platforms in a report issued on Thursday, January 30th. William Blair analyst R. Schackart now anticipates that the social networking company will post earnings per share of $4.89 for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $5.51. The consensus estimate for Meta Platforms’ current full-year earnings is $25.94 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for Meta Platforms’ Q2 2025 earnings at $5.36 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $5.56 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $23.14 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $25.82 EPS.

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

META has been the topic of a number of other research reports. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $720.00 to $790.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $620.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $715.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $710.83.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of META stock opened at $697.46 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.76 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.20. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $616.25 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $568.60. Meta Platforms has a one year low of $414.50 and a one year high of $710.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.98 and a quick ratio of 2.98.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of META. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 36,940 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $21,629,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 38,788 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $22,311,000 after buying an additional 1,909 shares in the last quarter. Capital City Trust Co. FL increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital City Trust Co. FL now owns 6,687 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $3,915,000 after buying an additional 541 shares in the last quarter. Sigma Planning Corp lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 32,632 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $19,106,000 after acquiring an additional 1,685 shares during the period. Finally, Cypress Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 16.9% during the 4th quarter. Cypress Capital LLC now owns 707 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $414,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,951 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $577.16, for a total value of $5,166,159.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 51,591 shares in the company, valued at $29,776,261.56. This trade represents a 14.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 12,975 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $696.39, for a total value of $9,035,660.25. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 210,971 shares in the company, valued at $146,918,094.69. The trade was a 5.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 673,878 shares of company stock valued at $416,269,904 over the last quarter. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.29%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.36%.

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.