Roth Capital Increases Earnings Estimates for Meta Platforms

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) – Equities research analysts at Roth Capital increased their Q4 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Meta Platforms in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, January 30th. Roth Capital analyst R. Kulkarni now forecasts that the social networking company will earn $7.67 per share for the quarter, up from their prior forecast of $7.54. The consensus estimate for Meta Platforms’ current full-year earnings is $25.44 per share. Roth Capital also issued estimates for Meta Platforms’ FY2026 earnings at $28.43 EPS.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.75 by $1.27. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 39.74% and a net margin of 37.91%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.33 EPS.

META has been the subject of several other research reports. Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $665.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $770.00 price objective (up from $700.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $715.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Susquehanna raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-six have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $706.76.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 1.6 %

NASDAQ META opened at $687.00 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 2.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. Meta Platforms has a 52 week low of $387.10 and a 52 week high of $710.79. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $611.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $564.44. The firm has a market cap of $1.73 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.19.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.29%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is currently 8.36%.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,951 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $577.16, for a total value of $5,166,159.16. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 51,591 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,776,261.56. The trade was a 14.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Nicholas Clegg sold 7,296 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $553.48, for a total value of $4,038,190.08. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 38,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,416,908.60. This trade represents a 15.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 661,804 shares of company stock worth $407,745,741. Insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Creekside Partners purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter valued at about $327,000. Heritage Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $213,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 20,112 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $10,141,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 75.1% in the 2nd quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 23,244 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $11,720,000 after buying an additional 9,972 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Greater Midwest Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter valued at $2,925,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

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.