Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the forty-nine analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, thirty-eight have given a buy recommendation and four have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $822.2222.

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on META shares. Bank of America cut their target price on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $810.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $1,117.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, December 30th. KeyCorp reduced their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $905.00 to $875.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, December 4th.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 1.5%

NASDAQ:META opened at $650.41 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $647.29 and a 200-day moving average of $705.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.64 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.29. Meta Platforms has a 52 week low of $479.80 and a 52 week high of $796.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The social networking company reported $7.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.74 by $0.51. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 39.35% and a net margin of 30.89%.The business had revenue of $51.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $49.34 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $6.03 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 26.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Meta Platforms will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th were paid a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.28%.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $658.69, for a total value of $341,860.11. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 28,658 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,876,738.02. This represents a 1.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 580 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $646.00, for a total transaction of $374,680.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 6,167 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,983,882. The trade was a 8.60% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 41,557 shares of company stock worth $25,905,353 over the last ninety days. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 608,429.2% during the second quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC now owns 59,775,823 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $44,119,937,000 after buying an additional 59,766,000 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter valued at about $23,155,393,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 73,443.1% in the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,417,003 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $6,212,506,000 after purchasing an additional 8,405,558 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 86,925,674 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $64,158,971,000 after purchasing an additional 1,650,435 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Danske Bank A S acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,191,175,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s acquisition of AI startup Manus (reported >$2B) is being viewed as strategically accretive — Manus has rapid ARR growth and deployed AI agents at scale, which could strengthen Meta’s business-focused AI offerings and ad performance. Why Meta’s +$2B AI Startup Acquisition Could Be a Huge Win
• Positive Sentiment: Research/coverage remains upbeat: Rosenblatt reaffirmed a Buy on META, and commentators (including Jim Cramer) have highlighted Meta as a buy, supporting investor confidence. Rosenblatt Securities Reaffirms Buy Rating for Meta Platforms
• Positive Sentiment: Monetization tailwinds continue: the WSJ reports Instagram Reels has become a ~\$50B business — evidence Meta’s AI-driven ad products are driving revenue expansion. How Meta’s Reels Became a $50 Billion Business
• Neutral Sentiment: Options market activity has surged around META, signaling elevated trader interest and potential volatility but not a clear directional signal for fundamentals. Spotlight on Meta Platforms: Analyzing the Surge in Options Activity
• Neutral Sentiment: Industry pieces and stock roundups (Fool, 247WallSt) compare Meta to peers and include it in AI/tech buy lists — helpful context but not immediate catalysts. Meta Platforms vs. Pinterest
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling has surfaced (including a ~\$341k sale by Jennifer Newstead and separate COO stock sales), which can spook investors despite being modest relative to Meta’s market cap. Jennifer Newstead Sells 519 Shares of Meta Platforms
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory/legal pressure increased: the U.S. Virgin Islands filed a lawsuit over scam ads and Reuters ran an investigation alleging Meta misled regulators about fake ads — these raise reputational and potential legal risk that can weigh on the stock. U.S. Virgin Islands Files Lawsuit Against Meta Over Scam Ads and User Safety

Meta Platforms Company Profile

Meta Platforms, Inc (NASDAQ: META), formerly Facebook, Inc, is a global technology company best known for building social networking services and immersive computing platforms. Founded in 2004 and headquartered in Menlo Park, California, the company operates a family of consumer-facing products and services that connect users, creators and businesses. In October 2021 the company rebranded as Meta to reflect an expanded strategic focus on augmented and virtual reality technologies alongside its social media businesses.

Meta’s core consumer products include Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger, which enable social networking, messaging, content sharing and community building across mobile and desktop devices.