Roth Capital Lowers Earnings Estimates for Meta Platforms

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) - Analysts at Roth Capital decreased their Q1 2025 EPS estimates for Meta Platforms in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, April 22nd. Roth Capital analyst R. Kulkarni now anticipates that the social networking company will earn $5.26 per share for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $5.45. Roth Capital currently has a "Buy" rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Meta Platforms' current full-year earnings is $26.70 per share. Roth Capital also issued estimates for Meta Platforms' Q4 2025 earnings at $7.21 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $5.65 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $6.06 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $6.50 EPS and Q4 2026 earnings at $8.59 EPS.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the company. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed an "underperform" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Wednesday. Wolfe Research upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $670.00 to $730.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $780.00 to $655.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $660.00 to $615.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Benchmark decreased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $820.00 to $640.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-six have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $676.55.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 2.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:META traded up $14.12 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $547.27. 17,064,639 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 14,447,709. The firm has a market cap of $1.39 trillion, a P/E ratio of 22.88, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.28. Meta Platforms has a 52-week low of $427.11 and a 52-week high of $740.91. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $590.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $604.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a current ratio of 2.98.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 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 firm earned $5.33 EPS.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Inlight Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Avondale Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $627.59, for a total transaction of $259,194.67. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 15,862 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,954,832.58. This represents a 2.54 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 5,060 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Saturday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $736.67, for a total value of $3,727,550.20. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now directly owns 5,139 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,785,747.13. This represents a 49.61 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 308,068 shares of company stock valued at $214,968,924. 13.71% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.38%. This is a positive change from Meta Platforms's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is currently 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.