Meta Platforms’ (META) Hold Rating Reiterated at Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC restated their hold rating on shares of Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports.

META has been the subject of a number of other research reports. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $872.00 price objective (up previously from $830.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $910.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Roth Mkm cut their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 26th. Wedbush lowered their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $920.00 to $880.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 19th. Finally, DA Davidson set a $825.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $847.98.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META opened at $716.50 on Thursday. Meta Platforms has a 1 year low of $479.80 and a 1 year high of $796.25. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $652.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $696.01. The company has a market capitalization of $1.81 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.49, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a current ratio of 2.60.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The social networking company reported $8.88 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.16 by $0.72. The firm had revenue of $59.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $58.33 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 30.08% and a return on equity of 38.61%. Meta Platforms’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $8.02 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Meta Platforms will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th were given a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is presently 8.94%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $665.00, for a total value of $343,805.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 10,132 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,737,780. This represents a 4.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 580 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $618.28, for a total value of $358,602.40. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 5,587 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,454,330.36. This represents a 9.40% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 40,113 shares of company stock worth $24,621,042 in the last three months. 13.61% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Meta Platforms

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 34,551 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $20,230,000 after purchasing an additional 570 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,456 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $5,537,000 after purchasing an additional 875 shares during the period. Headwater Capital Co Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 294.7% in the 1st quarter. Headwater Capital Co Ltd now owns 150,000 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $86,454,000 after acquiring an additional 112,000 shares during the period. Kooman & Associates boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Kooman & Associates now owns 544 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $402,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Global Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 41.7% during the second quarter. Eagle Global Advisors LLC now owns 28,955 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $21,371,000 after acquiring an additional 8,527 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 beat + AI narrative shift: Meta reported stronger‑than‑expected Q4 revenue and EPS and management framed ad strength as early proof that AI investments are improving monetization and engagement — a narrative some analysts now call an AI profit cycle. Meta’s Story Just Flipped — Seeking Alpha
• Positive Sentiment: Strong guidance & analyst upgrades: Q1 revenue guidance topped Street expectations and many firms raised price targets or reiterated buys, supporting the recent rally and giving institutional investors cover to support higher valuations. MarketBeat: Meta Soars After‑Hours
• Neutral Sentiment: Business diversification tests: Meta is piloting premium subscriptions for Instagram/Facebook/WhatsApp and expanding AI features — potential long‑term upside but unclear near‑term revenue impact. CNBC: Premium subscription tests
• Neutral Sentiment: Supply deals validate buildout but signal capital intensity: large supplier agreements (e.g., with Corning) back the AI data‑center plan while confirming heavy multi‑year spending. CNBC: Corning deal
• Negative Sentiment: Massive 2026 CapEx: Management guided to $115B–$135B of capex for 2026 — far above prior levels — raising near‑term cash intensity and margin dilution concerns despite management saying operating income should hold. Reuters: CapEx rise
• Negative Sentiment: Reality Labs drag: XR/Reality Labs continues to burn cash (multi‑billion losses), creating an ongoing margin headwind and execution risk for non‑ad businesses. TechCrunch: $19B VR burn
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory & reputational headlines: A New Mexico trial alleging platforms exposed minors to exploitation and reports about content‑blocking controversies add legal and reputational risk that can pressure multiple‑quarter sentiment. Reuters: New Mexico trial
• Negative Sentiment: Near‑term profit‑taking & headline noise: high short‑term expectations after the rally, occasional pundit criticism (e.g., Jim Cramer) and small insider sales add to volatility and can push the stock down after its run. 247WallSt: Jim Cramer critique

About Meta Platforms

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.