Erste Group Bank Comments on Meta Platforms FY2027 Earnings

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) – Analysts at Erste Group Bank boosted their FY2027 EPS estimates for shares of Meta Platforms in a research note issued on Thursday, October 8th. Erste Group Bank analyst H. Engel now expects that the social networking company will post earnings per share of $33.84 for the year, up from their previous estimate of $33.75. Erste Group Bank has a “Buy” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Meta Platforms’ current full-year earnings is $27.94 per share.

META has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Daiwa Securities Group cut their target price on Meta Platforms from $790.00 to $687.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Arete Research lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $735.00 to $806.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 16th. Loop Capital raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $740.00 to $955.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. Wolfe Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $700.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Wedbush lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $595.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-five have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $796.51.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

META stock opened at $762.50 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.94 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.19. Meta Platforms has a 52-week low of $520.26 and a 52-week high of $779.82. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $647.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $622.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 2.23.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.19 by ($1.01). The business had revenue of $60.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $60.22 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 33.18% and a net margin of 29.83%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $7.14 earnings per share.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Auto Owners Insurance Co grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 76,587.7% in the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 105,292,277 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $69,502,379,000 after acquiring an additional 105,154,977 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 4.0% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 92,033,963 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $51,841,811,000 after purchasing an additional 3,510,123 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 14.6% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 21,038,035 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $12,036,491,000 after purchasing an additional 2,673,494 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 18,200,469 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $12,013,948,000 after purchasing an additional 1,046,715 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 12,836,063 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $7,230,426,000 after purchasing an additional 162,909 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 27,474 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $777.44, for a total transaction of $21,359,386.56. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 946 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $728.08, for a total value of $688,763.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 7,878 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,735,814.24. This represents a 10.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 148,222 shares of company stock worth $101,033,627. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 28th. Investors of record on Monday, September 21st were given a dividend of $0.5250 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 21st. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.91%.

Key Meta Platforms News

Here are the key news stories impacting Meta Platforms this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Meta launched its Muse Wonder and Muse Wonder Full AI models, which it says are competitive with offerings from OpenAI and Anthropic. The models are designed for personal and professional agents capable of handling complex, multi-step tasks, strengthening the company’s position in the AI race. Meta releases Muse Wonder AI models to challenge Anthropic and OpenAI
• Positive Sentiment: Early third-party data reportedly showed strong retention for Meta’s standalone Muse assistant, comparable with ChatGPT. Investors viewed that engagement as evidence that Meta may be able to turn its substantial AI investment into a meaningful consumer product and potential subscription revenue. Why Meta stock is up today
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street remained constructive: KeyCorp reaffirmed an overweight rating with a $900 price target, Rosenblatt maintained a buy rating with an $886 target, and Truist reportedly set a $1,000 Street-high target based on AI-driven advertising improvements and Muse adoption. Erste Group Bank also modestly raised its FY2027 EPS estimate to $33.84 and kept a buy rating.
• Positive Sentiment: Meta introduced additional tools to fine-tune Facebook’s recommendation algorithms, potentially improving engagement and ad targeting. The company also restricted TikTok and ByteDance advertising across seven countries, which could redirect some advertising demand to Meta’s platforms. Meta Platforms introduces AI tools to fine-tune Facebook algorithms
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta will report third-quarter results after the market closes on October 21. Investors will be watching revenue growth, advertising performance, AI monetization and planned spending of approximately $130 billion to $145 billion. Meta to announce third-quarter 2026 results
• Negative Sentiment: Risks include Meta’s premium valuation after its recent rally, rising AI infrastructure costs and uncertainty over whether Muse subscriptions can produce attractive returns. Some commentary also noted slowing AI-assistant downloads and questioned whether the company’s large AI investment will generate sufficient profits.

Meta Platforms Company Profile

Meta Platforms, Inc is a technology company that develops social networking, messaging, virtual and augmented reality, and artificial intelligence products. The company operates a global family of apps that includes Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp and Threads, enabling users to connect, communicate, share content and discover communities.

Meta generates most of its business through digital advertising displayed across its platforms. Its products serve individuals, creators, businesses and organizations in markets around the world, while its advertising tools help businesses reach audiences based on factors such as interests, activity and demographics.

Through its Reality Labs division, Meta develops virtual and augmented reality hardware, software and services, including the Meta Quest line of headsets and related experiences.