Meta Platforms Q1 EPS Forecast Decreased by Seaport Res Ptn

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) – Research analysts at Seaport Res Ptn decreased their Q1 2025 EPS estimates for shares of Meta Platforms in a research note issued on Wednesday, January 29th. Seaport Res Ptn analyst A. Kessler now expects that the social networking company will post earnings per share of $5.18 for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $5.47. The consensus estimate for Meta Platforms’ current full-year earnings is $25.44 per share. Seaport Res Ptn also issued estimates for Meta Platforms’ Q2 2025 earnings at $5.86 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $6.16 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $8.18 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $29.65 EPS.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 37.91% and a return on equity of 39.74%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.33 earnings per share.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on the company. Benchmark raised Meta Platforms from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $820.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday. DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $583.00 to $627.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday. Arete Research upgraded shares of Meta Platforms to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $680.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-six have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $706.76.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of Meta Platforms stock opened at $687.00 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $611.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $564.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.73 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.72, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 2.73 and a quick ratio of 2.73. Meta Platforms has a one year low of $387.10 and a one year high of $710.79.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.29%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.36%.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, CAO Aaron Anderson sold 731 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,414 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,901,598. This represents a 17.64 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Nicholas Clegg sold 7,296 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $553.48, for a total transaction of $4,038,190.08. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 38,695 shares in the company, valued at $21,416,908.60. The trade was a 15.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 661,804 shares of company stock worth $407,745,741. Insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Meta Platforms

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.5% during the third 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 purchasing an additional 698,884 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.9% in 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 buying an additional 263,063 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.9% in 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 acquiring an additional 118,298 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 57,001.5% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 9,517,111 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $5,447,975,000 after acquiring an additional 9,500,444 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 2.8% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 6,946,755 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $4,101,602,000 after purchasing an additional 186,728 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.