Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Price Target Raised to $885.00

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) had its price objective hoisted by Bank of America from $810.00 to $885.00 in a report issued on Thursday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Bank of America currently has a buy rating on the social networking company’s stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Citizens Jmp reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $900.00 price objective (up previously from $750.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, November 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $910.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Redburn Partners set a $900.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $785.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Five investment 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.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $847.98.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 3.0%

NASDAQ META opened at $716.50 on Thursday. Meta Platforms has a 52 week low of $479.80 and a 52 week high of $796.25. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $652.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $696.01. The company has a quick ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 2.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The firm has a market cap of $1.81 trillion, a PE ratio of 30.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.29.

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

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Aaron Anderson sold 726 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $591.60, for a total value of $429,501.60. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 6,035 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,570,306. The trade was a 10.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 11,690 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $593.31, for a total value of $6,935,793.90. Following the sale, the chief technology officer owned 2,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,432,843.65. This trade represents a 82.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 40,113 shares of company stock worth $24,621,042. Company insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Westchester Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Bare Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the second quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the second quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, Key Capital Management INC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth $48,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

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.