Wedbush Analysts Boost Earnings Estimates for Meta Platforms

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) – Equities researchers at Wedbush lifted their Q2 2025 earnings per share estimates for shares of Meta Platforms in a note issued to investors on Monday, January 6th. Wedbush analyst S. Devitt now anticipates that the social networking company will earn $5.53 per share for the quarter, up from their prior forecast of $5.42. Wedbush currently has a “Outperform” rating and a $680.00 price target on the stock. The consensus estimate for Meta Platforms’ current full-year earnings is $22.68 per share.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on META. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $660.00 to $725.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $620.00 to $660.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Barclays raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Pivotal Research upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $780.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $645.80.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Meta Platforms stock opened at $610.72 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.54 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.19. Meta Platforms has a 52 week low of $355.36 and a 52 week high of $638.40. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $592.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $552.16. The company has a quick ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 2.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.19 by $0.84. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 35.60% and a net margin of 35.55%. The company had revenue of $40.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $40.21 billion.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of META. Legacy Private Trust Co. increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Legacy Private Trust Co. now owns 22,852 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $13,380,000 after buying an additional 1,168 shares during the last quarter. Private Client Services LLC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 31.9% in the 4th quarter. Private Client Services LLC now owns 2,057 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,205,000 after purchasing an additional 497 shares during the last quarter. Hilltop Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Hilltop Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 446 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $261,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Worth Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 14.4% during the fourth quarter. Worth Asset Management LLC now owns 818 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $479,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Park National Corp OH lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 8.8% during the fourth quarter. Park National Corp OH now owns 7,057 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $4,132,000 after purchasing an additional 572 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 12,975 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $618.42, for a total transaction of $8,023,999.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 420,215 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $259,869,360.30. This trade represents a 3.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,951 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $577.16, for a total transaction of $5,166,159.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 51,591 shares in the company, valued at $29,776,261.56. This represents a 14.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 410,536 shares of company stock worth $249,024,275. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 9.42%.

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.