William Blair Weighs in on Meta Platforms FY2025 Earnings

Key Points

• William Blair has raised its FY2025 earnings per share estimate for Meta Platforms to $28.14, up from a previous estimate of $28.09, with the current consensus at $26.70 per share.
• Meta Platforms also recently reported a quarterly earnings per share of $7.14, which exceeded the consensus estimate of $5.75, alongside a substantial revenue increase of 21.6% year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.525, which will be paid to shareholders of record on September 22nd, reflecting an annualized yield of 0.3%.

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) - Equities research analysts at William Blair upped their FY2025 earnings per share estimates for Meta Platforms in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, September 19th. William Blair analyst R. Schackart now expects that the social networking company will post earnings of $28.14 per share for the year, up from their prior estimate of $28.09. The consensus estimate for Meta Platforms' current full-year earnings is $26.70 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for Meta Platforms' Q4 2025 earnings at $8.02 EPS and Q1 2026 earnings at $6.33 EPS.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Meta Platforms from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $800.00 price target (up previously from $725.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, July 28th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $775.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Zacks Research lowered shares of Meta Platforms from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. Finally, Pivotal Research boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $830.00 to $930.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $826.05.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 0.2%

META stock opened at $778.38 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.96 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.24. Meta Platforms has a 52 week low of $479.80 and a 52 week high of $796.25. The company has a quick ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $747.06 and a 200 day moving average of $666.27.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The social networking company reported $7.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.75 by $1.39. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 39.33% and a net margin of 39.99%.The business had revenue of $47.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $44.55 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.16 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. Meta Platforms has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Inlight Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Bare Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the first quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Evergreen Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 237.5% in the second quarter. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC now owns 54 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 18,332 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $764.71, for a total value of $14,018,663.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 84,141 shares in the company, valued at approximately $64,343,464.11. This represents a 17.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 60,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $775.95, for a total value of $46,557,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 237,205 shares of the company's stock, valued at $184,059,219.75. The trade was a 20.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 257,405 shares of company stock worth $196,059,438. 13.61% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 22nd will be paid a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 22nd. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.60%.

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.

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