Meta Platforms Q1 EPS Forecast Decreased by William Blair

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) – Equities research analysts at William Blair reduced their Q1 2025 EPS estimates for Meta Platforms in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, January 30th. William Blair analyst R. Schackart now forecasts that the social networking company will post earnings of $4.89 per share for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $5.51. The consensus estimate for Meta Platforms’ current full-year earnings is $25.44 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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.75 by $1.27. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 39.74% and a net margin of 37.91%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $5.33 earnings per share.

Several other analysts have also commented on the stock. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $710.00 to $765.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Scotiabank upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $583.00 to $627.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $590.00 to $663.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $688.00 to $765.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Wolfe Research increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $670.00 to $730.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $710.83.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of META stock opened at $689.18 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $613.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $567.04. Meta Platforms has a 12 month low of $387.10 and a 12 month high of $710.79. 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 company has a market capitalization of $1.74 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.19.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of META. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 48,160,608 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $27,470,870,000 after acquiring an additional 698,884 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 14,440,868 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $8,266,531,000 after purchasing an additional 263,063 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,827,565 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $7,915,451,000 after purchasing an additional 118,298 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 57,001.5% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 9,517,111 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $5,447,975,000 after buying an additional 9,500,444 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 6,946,755 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $4,101,602,000 after buying an additional 186,728 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 901 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $567.70, for a total transaction of $511,497.70. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 30,581 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,360,833.70. This represents a 2.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $562.77, for a total transaction of $232,424.01. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 19,579 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,018,473.83. The trade was a 2.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 661,804 shares of company stock valued at $407,745,741. 13.71% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.29%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is currently 8.36%.

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.