Q3 EPS Estimates for Meta Platforms Lifted by Roth Capital

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) - Roth Capital lifted their Q3 2026 EPS estimates for Meta Platforms in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, July 8th. Roth Capital analyst R. Kulkarni now anticipates that the social networking company will post earnings per share of $6.92 for the quarter, up from their prior forecast of $6.48. Roth Capital currently has a "Buy" rating and a $740.00 target price on the stock. The consensus estimate for Meta Platforms' current full-year earnings is $26.70 per share. Roth Capital also issued estimates for Meta Platforms' Q4 2026 earnings at $9.00 EPS.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.33 by $1.10. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 39.11% and a return on equity of 38.69%. The firm had revenue of $42.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $41.45 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.71 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on META. DA Davidson reduced their price target on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $650.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Citigroup increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $690.00 to $803.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $735.00 to $795.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday. Benchmark dropped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $820.00 to $640.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $725.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $729.38.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of Meta Platforms stock traded down $9.73 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $717.51. 10,855,962 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 14,460,014. Meta Platforms has a twelve month low of $442.65 and a twelve month high of $747.90. The company has a market cap of $1.80 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.98, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a quick ratio of 2.66, a current ratio of 2.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $674.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $634.57.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 191,198,005 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $111,948,344,000 after purchasing an additional 1,502,553 shares in the last quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 608,429.2% during the second quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC now owns 59,775,823 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $44,119,937,000 after buying an additional 59,766,000 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 49,181,127 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $28,719,970,000 after buying an additional 1,020,519 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 42,317,434 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $24,777,282,000 after buying an additional 1,049,121 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 40,317,105 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $23,606,338,000 after acquiring an additional 1,141,355 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 6,874 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $659.36, for a total value of $4,532,440.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 70,040 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $46,181,574.40. This represents a 8.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 22,449 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $636.85, for a total transaction of $14,296,645.65. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 1,183 shares in the company, valued at $753,393.55. This represents a 94.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 153,792 shares of company stock valued at $105,466,325 in the last three months. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.19%.

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.