Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META – Free Report) – Equities researchers at Roth Capital increased their Q2 2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Meta Platforms in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, April 30th. Roth Capital analyst R. Kulkarni now forecasts that the social networking company will earn $6.32 per share for the quarter, up from their previous forecast of $6.06. Roth Capital has a “Buy” rating and a $620.00 price target 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’ Q3 2026 earnings at $6.48 EPS and Q4 2026 earnings at $8.50 EPS.
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.33 by $1.10. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 37.91% and a return on equity of 38.17%. The business had revenue of $42.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $41.45 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $4.71 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on META
Meta Platforms Price Performance
Meta Platforms stock opened at $597.02 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.51 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.96, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.28. Meta Platforms has a 52-week low of $442.65 and a 52-week high of $740.91. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $575.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $603.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a current ratio of 2.98.
Meta Platforms Increases Dividend
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.35%. This is a boost from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.78%.
Insider Buying and Selling
In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 12,975 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $696.23, for a total value of $9,033,584.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 197,996 shares in the company, valued at $137,850,755.08. The trade was a 6.15 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 608 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $488.18, for a total transaction of $296,813.44. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 5,622 shares in the company, valued at $2,744,547.96. The trade was a 9.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 237,017 shares of company stock worth $167,207,524. Corporate insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms
Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Inlight Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Avondale Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.
Meta Platforms Company Profile
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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