Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the forty-eight analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, ten have given a hold recommendation, thirty-four have assigned a buy recommendation and three have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $840.5952.

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Wedbush raised shares of Meta Platforms from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Benchmark initiated coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Meta Platforms from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

NASDAQ:META opened at $550.25 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $612.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $630.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 2.35 and a quick ratio of 2.35. The firm has a market cap of $1.39 trillion, a PE ratio of 20.00, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.23. Meta Platforms has a 1-year low of $520.26 and a 1-year high of $796.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.67 by $3.77. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.84% and a return on equity of 36.93%. The business had revenue of $56.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.56 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $6.43 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Meta Platforms will post 29.35 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th were paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is currently 7.63%.

Trending Headlines about Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Wedbush’s Dan Ives said Meta is being treated like a “bear market” stock despite its central role in the AI buildout, arguing the recent selloff is more about short-term impatience than a broken AI thesis.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst commentary said Meta’s AI push is driving revenue growth, stronger ad engagement, and rising user activity, supporting the case for further upside.
• Positive Sentiment: Qualcomm’s new AI data-center push and partnerships with Meta and Microsoft reinforce Meta’s role in major AI infrastructure deals, which may support long-term growth expectations. Qualcomm stock jumps on AI data center push, Meta and Microsoft deals
• Positive Sentiment: One article framed Meta as one of the most attractive mega-cap tech names after the 2026 selloff, suggesting the stock could have meaningful recovery potential from current levels.
• Neutral Sentiment: Mark Zuckerberg is reportedly pushing Meta to explore working with prediction-market platforms Polymarket and Kalshi as part of an Arena app aimed at younger users, which could expand engagement but is still early-stage. Mark Zuckerberg Urges Meta to Explore Working With Polymarket and Kalshi
• Neutral Sentiment: Consumer-sentiment commentary said Meta continues to keep users on its platforms longer, but investor sentiment remains weighed down by AI spending concerns. Ca$htag$: Is META Winning Over Consumers?
• Negative Sentiment: Meta is facing fresh legal and reputational pressure after Sarah Wynn-Williams accused the company of surveilling her to silence criticism, adding to headline risk around the stock.
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple reports continue to highlight investor concern that Meta’s aggressive AI infrastructure spending is compressing near-term cash flow, which has been a major factor behind the stock’s weakness.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meta Platforms news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 504 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $629.29, for a total transaction of $317,162.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 3,943 shares in the company, valued at $2,481,290.47. The trade was a 11.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 140 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.00, for a total transaction of $84,000.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 12,846 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,707,600. This represents a 1.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 39,013 shares of company stock worth $24,115,999 over the last ninety days. 13.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. First National Bank Sioux Falls boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. First National Bank Sioux Falls now owns 2,001 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,321,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the period. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. now owns 984 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $649,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the period. Vista Capital Partners Inc. raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.3% in the second quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. now owns 1,075 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $794,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Arcataur Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Arcataur Capital Management LLC now owns 1,736 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,146,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Acorn Creek Capital LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Acorn Creek Capital LLC now owns 2,118 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,398,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.