Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Price Target Raised to $900.00

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) had its price target increased by Truist Financial from $875.00 to $900.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the social networking company’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Rosenblatt Securities upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $1,117.00 to $1,144.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Raymond James Financial reduced their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $800.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 26th. BNP Paribas Exane began coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday, November 24th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $800.00 target price for the company. Arete Research set a $718.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $870.00 price target (down previously from $900.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $847.98.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 3.0%

Shares of Meta Platforms stock opened at $716.50 on Thursday. The stock 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. Meta Platforms has a twelve month low of $479.80 and a twelve month high of $796.25. The company has a current ratio of 2.60, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $652.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $696.01.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $59.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.33 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $8.02 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th were issued a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 8.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 2,610 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Saturday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $609.46, for a total transaction of $1,590,690.60. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 9,784 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,962,956.64. The trade was a 21.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 11,690 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $593.31, for a total transaction of $6,935,793.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 2,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,432,843.65. The trade was a 82.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 40,113 shares of company stock valued at $24,621,042. Corporate insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Meta Platforms

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Westchester Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Bare Financial Services Inc acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter valued at $42,000. Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, WFA Asset Management Corp raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 42.6% during the 2nd quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 67 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Meta Platforms

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.