Cantor Fitzgerald Estimates Meta Platforms FY2025 Earnings

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) - Cantor Fitzgerald raised their FY2025 EPS estimates for Meta Platforms in a report issued on Thursday, May 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald analyst D. Mathivanan now anticipates that the social networking company will post earnings per share of $24.67 for the year, up from their prior forecast of $22.64. Cantor Fitzgerald has a "Overweight" rating and a $676.00 price objective on the stock. The consensus estimate for Meta Platforms' current full-year earnings is $26.70 per share.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.33 by $1.10. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 37.91% and a return on equity of 38.17%. The firm had revenue of $42.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $41.45 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $4.71 earnings per share. Meta Platforms's revenue for the quarter was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Loop Capital decreased their price target on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $695.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Moffett Nathanson increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Benchmark decreased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $820.00 to $640.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $775.00 to $780.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $696.45.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 2.0 %

NASDAQ META traded down $11.96 on Monday, reaching $587.31. The company had a trading volume of 10,418,936 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,437,543. Meta Platforms has a 1 year low of $442.65 and a 1 year high of $740.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.98 and a quick ratio of 2.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.49 trillion, a PE ratio of 24.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.24. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $573.80 and a 200-day moving average of $604.15.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 8.3% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 509,947 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $293,914,000 after purchasing an additional 39,012 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 120,899 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $69,681,000 after buying an additional 5,639 shares during the period. Tempus Wealth Planning LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.7% during the first quarter. Tempus Wealth Planning LLC now owns 3,201 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,845,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Tufton Capital Management boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.6% during the first quarter. Tufton Capital Management now owns 2,474 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $1,426,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Three Bridge Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 197.5% during the first quarter. Three Bridge Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 37,821 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $21,799,000 after purchasing an additional 25,106 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 406 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $491.69, for a total value of $199,626.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 4,608 shares in the company, valued at $2,265,707.52. This represents a 8.10 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,553 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Saturday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $736.67, for a total transaction of $6,300,738.51. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 51,793 shares in the company, valued at $38,154,349.31. This trade represents a 14.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 222,724 shares of company stock worth $157,259,224 over the last three months. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. This is an increase from Meta Platforms's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.36%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is currently 8.19%.

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.