Q2 EPS Estimates for Meta Platforms Lowered by Roth Capital

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) - Analysts at Roth Capital cut their Q2 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Meta Platforms in a research note issued on Tuesday, April 22nd. Roth Capital analyst R. Kulkarni now expects that the social networking company will post earnings of $5.34 per share for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $5.93. The consensus estimate for Meta Platforms' current full-year earnings is $26.70 per share. Roth Capital also issued estimates for Meta Platforms' Q3 2025 earnings at $5.48 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $23.30 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $26.79 EPS.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their target price on Meta Platforms from $790.00 to $624.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $630.00 to $705.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Benchmark decreased their target price on Meta Platforms from $820.00 to $640.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, DA Davidson decreased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $650.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $676.55.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META opened at $520.79 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a current ratio of 2.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.32 trillion, a P/E ratio of 21.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.28. Meta Platforms has a 1 year low of $414.50 and a 1 year high of $740.91. The company's fifty day moving average is $594.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $605.11.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 prior year, the firm posted $5.33 EPS.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at $19,949,512,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 67,172.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 23,452,665 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $13,517,178,000 after buying an additional 23,417,803 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 78,471.1% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,248,763 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $3,658,713,000 after purchasing an additional 6,240,810 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth about $2,243,603,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Meta Platforms by 13.5% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 23,445,565 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $13,727,613,000 after purchasing an additional 2,787,832 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 35,921 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $644.76, for a total transaction of $23,160,423.96. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 406 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $491.69, for a total value of $199,626.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 4,608 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,265,707.52. This trade represents a 8.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 343,068 shares of company stock worth $237,676,335 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 13.71% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Meta Platforms's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.40%. Meta Platforms's dividend 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.