Seaport Res Ptn Expects Weaker Earnings for Meta Platforms

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) – Analysts at Seaport Res Ptn reduced their FY2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Meta Platforms in a report released on Wednesday, January 29th. Seaport Res Ptn analyst A. Kessler now forecasts that the social networking company will earn $25.39 per share for the year, down from their prior forecast of $25.78. The consensus estimate for Meta Platforms’ current full-year earnings is $25.44 per share.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on META. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $680.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Meta Platforms to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $710.00 to $765.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Wolfe Research raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $670.00 to $730.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $770.00 price objective (up from $700.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $710.83.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

NASDAQ META opened at $689.18 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $613.60 and its 200 day moving average price is $567.04. Meta Platforms has a twelve month low of $387.10 and a twelve month high of $710.79. 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. The company has a current ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 2.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 quarter last year, the company earned $5.33 EPS.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 9.3% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 42,603 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $24,944,000 after buying an additional 3,615 shares in the last quarter. Semus Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 14.3% during the fourth quarter. Semus Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,259 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,908,000 after buying an additional 408 shares in the last quarter. Convergence Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 29.8% during the fourth quarter. Convergence Investment Partners LLC now owns 17,452 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $10,218,000 after buying an additional 4,008 shares in the last quarter. Allied Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Allied Investment Advisors LLC now owns 489 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $286,000 after buying an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atlas Legacy Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,301,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $666.00, for a total value of $602,730.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 29,295 shares in the company, valued at $19,510,470. The trade was a 3.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 35,921 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.97, for a total value of $21,838,890.37. 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. Corporate insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.29%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. 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.