Erste Group Bank Estimates Meta Platforms FY2027 Earnings

Key Points

• Erste Group Bank raised its FY2027 EPS estimate for Meta Platforms to $34.92 from $34.70 and kept a Buy rating on the stock. That estimate remains well above the current consensus of $29.42 per share.
• Meta’s recent quarterly results were strong, with EPS of $10.44 beating expectations by a wide margin and revenue of $56.31 billion topping analyst estimates. Revenue also rose 33.1% year over year, showing continued business momentum.
• Analysts remain broadly constructive, but targets are mixed, with several firms maintaining Buy ratings while others trimmed price targets or turned more cautious. Overall, MarketBeat shows a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with an average target price of $830.45.

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) - Equities research analysts at Erste Group Bank increased their FY2027 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Meta Platforms in a research note issued on Wednesday, July 15th. Erste Group Bank analyst H. Engel now anticipates that the social networking company will post earnings per share of $34.92 for the year, up from their previous estimate of $34.70. Erste Group Bank currently has a "Buy" rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Meta Platforms' current full-year earnings is $29.42 per share.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $805.00 to $780.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Benchmark assumed coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. Guggenheim dropped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $725.00 price target (down from $825.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have issued a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $830.45.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

NASDAQ:META opened at $664.54 on Friday. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $602.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $626.87. Meta Platforms has a 1-year low of $520.26 and a 1-year high of $796.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 2.35 and a quick ratio of 2.35. The firm has a market cap of $1.68 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $6.67 by $3.77. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 36.93% and a net margin of 32.84%.The business had revenue of $56.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.56 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $6.43 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in META. Keybank National Association OH lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 15.7% during the 4th quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 133,798 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $88,319,000 after acquiring an additional 18,169 shares in the last quarter. WMS Group LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at $876,000. Diversified Trust Co. raised its position in Meta Platforms by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co. now owns 84,059 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $55,487,000 after purchasing an additional 3,336 shares during the period. Consolidated Investment Group LLC raised its position in Meta Platforms by 61.2% in the fourth quarter. Consolidated Investment Group LLC now owns 7,900 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $5,215,000 after purchasing an additional 3,000 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 199,995,630 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $132,015,115,000 after purchasing an additional 7,269,279 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 3,348 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.97, for a total value of $2,012,047.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 9,498 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,708,013.06. This trade represents a 26.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 2,079 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $609.92, for a total value of $1,268,023.68. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,118 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $681,890.56. This represents a 65.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders sold 39,503 shares of company stock worth $24,241,859. Company insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th were given a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.63%.

More Meta Platforms News

Here are the key news stories impacting Meta Platforms this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Meta is reportedly weighing a cloud push and plans to hire Dave Brown, a top Amazon Web Services executive, which suggests it wants to strengthen its enterprise and AI infrastructure strategy. Meta Plans to Hire Top Amazon Computing Executive as it Weighs Cloud Push
• Positive Sentiment: Several articles highlighted Meta as a major AI winner, with analysts and market commentators citing upside potential tied to its AI boom, custom chips, and massive data center spending. How Meta Platforms (META) Is Strengthening Its AI Infrastructure With Custom Chips and Massive Computing Expansion
• Positive Sentiment: Meta continues to attract bullish attention from investors and media coverage, including commentary that the stock may have meaningful upside from current levels. Muse Image: Can Meta Platforms Inc (META) Kill Two Birds With One Stone?
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta’s AI chatbot now alerts parents if teens discuss suicide or self-harm, a safety-focused product update that may help reduce regulatory and reputational risk but is unlikely to move the stock much on its own. Meta now alerts parents if their teen discussed suicide or self-harm with its AI chatbot
• Neutral Sentiment: Wedbush initiated coverage with a neutral rating and a $671 price target, signaling a cautious but not bearish stance from analysts. Benzinga coverage of Wedbush initiation
• Negative Sentiment: Meta is still facing investor concern over its aggressive AI capital spending, with commentary warning that the company is “spending like an infrastructure company” while being valued like a growth stock. Meta Is Betting $50 Billion on AI Data Centers. Where Does The Stock Go From Here?
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that 26 employees are suing Meta over alleged AI-driven layoffs targeting workers on leave add legal and reputational overhang. Meta employees sue over alleged AI-driven layoffs targeting workers on leave

About Meta Platforms

Meta Platforms, Inc NASDAQ: META, formerly Facebook, Inc, is a global technology company best known for building social networking services and immersive computing platforms. Founded in 2004 and headquartered in Menlo Park, California, the company operates a family of consumer-facing products and services that connect users, creators and businesses. In October 2021 the company rebranded as Meta to reflect an expanded strategic focus on augmented and virtual reality technologies alongside its social media businesses.

Meta's core consumer products include Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger, which enable social networking, messaging, content sharing and community building across mobile and desktop devices.

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