Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Price Target Raised to $850.00

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) had its price objective upped by Mizuho from $815.00 to $850.00 in a research report released on Thursday morning, MarketBeat reports. Mizuho currently has an outperform rating on the social networking company’s stock.

META has been the topic of a number of other reports. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $910.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $850.00 price target (up previously from $800.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $900.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $1,117.00 to $1,144.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $847.98.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Meta Platforms stock opened at $716.50 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $652.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $696.01. Meta Platforms has a fifty-two week low of $479.80 and a fifty-two week high of $796.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.60 and a quick ratio of 1.98. The company has a market cap of $1.81 trillion, a P/E ratio of 30.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.29.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The social networking company reported $8.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.16 by $0.72. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.61% and a net margin of 30.08%.The company had revenue of $59.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.33 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $8.02 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Meta Platforms will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th were given a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 15th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.94%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meta Platforms news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 600 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Monday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $609.35, for a total transaction of $365,610.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 7,347 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,476,894.45. The trade was a 7.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 2,610 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Saturday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $609.46, for a total value of $1,590,690.60. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 9,784 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,962,956.64. This trade represents a 21.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 40,113 shares of company stock valued at $24,621,042 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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

More 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.