Brokers Set Expectations for Meta Platforms FY2025 Earnings

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) – Stock analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald issued their FY2025 EPS estimates for Meta Platforms in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, January 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald analyst D. Mathivanan anticipates that the social networking company will earn $25.53 per share for the year. Cantor Fitzgerald has a “Overweight” rating and a $720.00 price target on the stock. The consensus estimate for Meta Platforms’ current full-year earnings is $22.96 per share.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on META. Guggenheim upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $665.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $590.00 to $663.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Roth Mkm boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $620.00 to $635.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $715.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded Meta Platforms to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $654.20.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 2.1 %

NASDAQ:META opened at $636.45 on Wednesday. Meta Platforms has a 1 year low of $385.66 and a 1 year high of $638.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 2.73 and a current ratio of 2.73. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $600.06 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $559.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.61 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.98, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.19.

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

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.31%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 9.42%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In related news, CAO Aaron Anderson sold 731 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $557.00, for a total value of $407,167.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,414 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,901,598. This trade represents a 17.64 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 35,921 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $633.25, for a total value of $22,746,973.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 568,016 shares of company stock valued at $346,031,180. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of META. Custom Index Systems LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Custom Index Systems LLC now owns 3,271 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,915,000 after buying an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,785,000. Caprock Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 15.1% in the 4th quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 78,115 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $45,738,000 after purchasing an additional 10,259 shares during the last quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 14,422 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $8,444,000 after buying an additional 991 shares during the period. Finally, Southern Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Southern Capital Advisors LLC now owns 549 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $321,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

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.