Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Stock Price Up 6.1% Following Earnings Beat

May 3, 2025

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Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META – Get Free Report) traded up 6.1% on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The company traded as high as $592.95 and last traded at $582.38. 15,892,662 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 10% from the average session volume of 14,393,269 shares. The stock had previously closed at $549.00.

The social networking company reported $6.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.33 by $1.10. The firm had revenue of $42.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $41.45 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.17% and a net margin of 37.91%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.71 EPS.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.525 dividend. This is a positive change from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.35%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is currently 8.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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A number of research firms recently commented on META. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $665.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Argus set a $775.00 target price on Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $846.00 to $918.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Raymond James cut their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $750.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $696.45.

Read Our Latest Research Report on Meta Platforms

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $676.00, for a total value of $279,188.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 15,449 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,443,524. This represents a 2.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 12,975 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $696.23, for a total transaction of $9,033,584.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 197,996 shares in the company, valued at approximately $137,850,755.08. The trade was a 6.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 237,017 shares of company stock valued at $167,207,524 over the last quarter. 13.71% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of META. Inlight Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Avondale Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,000. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 4.3 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a current ratio of 2.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.51 trillion, a P/E ratio of 24.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.28. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $575.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $603.62.

Meta Platforms Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.