Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Price Target Raised to $920.00

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) had its price objective lifted by Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft from $880.00 to $920.00 in a research report report published on Thursday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft currently has a buy rating on the social networking company’s stock.

META has been the subject of several other research reports. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 10th. KeyCorp reduced their price target on Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $835.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $840.00 to $810.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Mizuho boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $815.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $847.98.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 3.0%

Shares of NASDAQ 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 business has a fifty day moving average price of $652.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $696.01. The stock has a market capitalization 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. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.60 and a quick ratio of 1.98.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The social networking company reported $8.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.16 by $0.72. The company had revenue of $59.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.33 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.61% and a net margin of 30.08%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 23.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $8.02 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Meta Platforms will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 15th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.94%.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owned 10,132 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,737,780. This represents a 4.85% 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, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $658.69, for a total transaction of $341,860.11. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 28,658 shares in the company, valued at $18,876,738.02. The trade was a 1.78% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 40,113 shares of company stock worth $24,621,042 over the last quarter. Insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC grew 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 during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC boosted 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 worth $5,537,000 after purchasing an additional 875 shares in the last quarter. Headwater Capital Co Ltd grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 294.7% during the 1st quarter. Headwater Capital Co Ltd now owns 150,000 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $86,454,000 after purchasing an additional 112,000 shares during the period. Kooman & Associates grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Kooman & Associates now owns 544 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $402,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. Finally, Eagle Global Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 41.7% during the 2nd quarter. Eagle Global Advisors LLC now owns 28,955 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $21,371,000 after purchasing an additional 8,527 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Headlines Impacting 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

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.