Zacks Research Cuts Earnings Estimates for Meta Platforms

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Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) - Investment analysts at Zacks Research reduced their Q4 2025 EPS estimates for shares of Meta Platforms in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, November 19th. Zacks Research analyst Team now anticipates that the social networking company will earn $7.51 per share for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $7.55. Zacks Research has a "Hold" rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Meta Platforms' current full-year earnings is $26.70 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Meta Platforms' Q1 2026 earnings at $6.34 EPS.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on META. KeyCorp decreased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $905.00 to $875.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Oppenheimer cut shares of Meta Platforms from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. HSBC raised shares of Meta Platforms from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $610.00 to $900.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. JMP Securities boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $950.00 to $910.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-seven have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $825.05.

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Check Out Our Latest Research Report on META

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $589.22 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.49 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.20. The business's 50 day moving average is $700.89 and its 200-day moving average is $704.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Meta Platforms has a 1-year low of $479.80 and a 1-year high of $796.25.

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Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The social networking company reported $7.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.74 by $0.51. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 30.89% and a return on equity of 39.35%. The firm had revenue of $51.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $49.34 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $6.03 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 26.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Meta Platforms has set its Q4 2025 guidance at EPS.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Westchester Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Bare Financial Services Inc bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the second quarter valued at about $30,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the first quarter valued at about $33,000. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 237.5% during the second quarter. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC now owns 54 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Briaud Financial Planning Inc acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the second quarter valued at approximately $42,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Aaron Anderson sold 726 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $591.60, for a total value of $429,501.60. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 6,035 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,570,306. This trade represents a 10.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $609.35, for a total value of $365,610.00. Following the sale, the director owned 7,347 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,476,894.45. This represents a 7.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 41,959 shares of company stock valued at $26,906,323 over the last three months. 13.61% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 29th. Investors of record on Monday, September 22nd were given a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 22nd. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.28%.

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.

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