Q1 EPS Estimates for Meta Platforms Lifted by William Blair

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) – Analysts at William Blair lifted their Q1 2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Meta Platforms in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, July 30th. William Blair analyst R. Schackart now anticipates that the social networking company will post earnings of $6.11 per share for the quarter, up from their prior forecast of $5.97. The consensus estimate for Meta Platforms’ current full-year earnings is $26.70 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for Meta Platforms’ Q2 2026 earnings at $6.04 EPS and Q3 2026 earnings at $5.91 EPS.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on META. KeyCorp upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $905.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $775.00 to $870.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Pivotal Research upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $830.00 to $930.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Needham & Company LLC raised Meta Platforms from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $808.00 to $880.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-nine have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $820.32.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

META stock opened at $750.01 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.89 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.27. Meta Platforms has a 12-month low of $450.80 and a 12-month high of $784.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.97, a quick ratio of 2.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $701.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $645.88.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The social networking company reported $7.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.75 by $1.39. The firm had revenue of $47.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $44.55 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 39.33% and a net margin of 39.99%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $5.16 EPS.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.19%.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 13,793 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $701.13, for a total value of $9,670,686.09. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 118,279 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $82,928,955.27. This trade represents a 10.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 22,449 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $636.85, for a total transaction of $14,296,645.65. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 1,183 shares in the company, valued at $753,393.55. This trade represents a 94.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 152,980 shares of company stock valued at $105,708,832. Insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Meta Platforms

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Inlight Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC raised its position in Meta Platforms by 237.5% in the 2nd quarter. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC now owns 54 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the first quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Briaud Financial Planning Inc purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the second quarter worth approximately $42,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.