Zacks Research Predicts Higher Earnings for Meta Platforms

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) – Analysts at Zacks Research raised their Q2 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Meta Platforms in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, November 20th. Zacks Research analyst A. Ganguly now forecasts that the social networking company will post earnings per share of $5.72 for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $5.46. The consensus estimate for Meta Platforms’ current full-year earnings is $22.53 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Meta Platforms’ Q3 2025 earnings at $6.13 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $6.21 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $6.50 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $6.95 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $27.64 EPS.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on META. Roth Mkm increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $620.00 to $635.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Needham & Company LLC reissued an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $652.00 to $641.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $634.10.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of Meta Platforms stock opened at $559.14 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 2.73 and a quick ratio of 2.73. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $572.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $524.35. Meta Platforms has a fifty-two week low of $313.66 and a fifty-two week high of $602.95. The firm has a market cap of $1.41 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.22.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.19 by $0.84. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 35.55% and a return on equity of 35.60%. The firm had revenue of $40.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $40.21 billion.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.36%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 9.42%.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $519.05, for a total value of $469,740.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 39,627 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,568,394.35. This trade represents a 2.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 620 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $557.00, for a total transaction of $345,340.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 19,992 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,135,544. The trade was a 3.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 168,843 shares of company stock worth $92,083,554 in the last three months. Insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Meta Platforms

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. JDM Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the third quarter worth $36,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter valued at $38,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 122.2% in the 2nd quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 80 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Halpern Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter worth $46,000. 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.