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

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) had its price target increased by Citizens Jmp from $770.00 to $885.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a market outperform rating on the social networking company’s stock.

META has been the topic of a number of other reports. Raymond James Financial raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $860.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Mizuho set a $750.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. BNP Paribas Exane initiated coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Meta Platforms from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $640.00 to $820.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-four have given a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $785.90.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 3.3%

Shares of Meta Platforms stock opened at $751.66 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $615.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $613.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.91 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.31, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.25. Meta Platforms has a twelve month low of $520.26 and a twelve month high of $779.82.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.19 by ($1.01). Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 33.18% and a net margin of 29.83%.The company had revenue of $60.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $60.22 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $7.14 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms will post 27.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 21st will be issued a $0.5250 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 21st. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.91%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meta Platforms news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,848 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $558.00, for a total transaction of $4,379,184.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $462,024. This trade represents a 90.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Aaron Anderson sold 3,240 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $618.06, for a total value of $2,002,514.40. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 6,271 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,875,854.26. The trade was a 34.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 123,333 shares of company stock valued at $80,795,845. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Meta Platforms

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 5.5% during the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 372,579 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $209,870,000 after acquiring an additional 19,353 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 6.4% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 119,557 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $67,330,000 after acquiring an additional 7,184 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,236,516 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,823,088,000 after acquiring an additional 64,136 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.0% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 92,033,963 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $51,841,811,000 after purchasing an additional 3,510,123 shares during the period. Finally, Silicon Valley Capital Partners raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 13.9% during the second quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners now owns 74,799 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $42,134,000 after purchasing an additional 9,114 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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: Muse momentum remains the main bullish catalyst. Early reviews, rising user traction and Meta’s new early-access program for upcoming Muse features are reinforcing expectations that the AI assistant could become a major consumer product and future revenue stream. Meta opens early access program for new Muse features
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts are raising price targets. Deutsche Bank, TD Cowen, Canaccord Genuity and other firms lifted targets and maintained bullish ratings, citing Muse’s potential to expand Meta beyond advertising through subscriptions, commerce and AI services. Meta price targets raised as Muse gains momentum
• Positive Sentiment: AI hardware could broaden Muse’s distribution. Meta is integrating Muse into Ray-Ban AI glasses and introducing additional wearable and VR products, creating potential new hardware, services and commerce opportunities.
• Neutral Sentiment: Friday’s decline appears largely technical. After rising roughly 36% during September and approaching a $2 trillion market value, Meta faced profit-taking and a pullback from recent highs. Bullish options activity suggests some traders continue to view the weakness as a buying opportunity.
• Neutral Sentiment: Large capital spending remains a key debate. Investors are encouraged by Meta’s AI strategy but remain uncertain whether heavy spending on infrastructure and Reality Labs will generate sufficient returns.
• Negative Sentiment: New Mexico litigation adds regulatory risk. A jury found that Meta misled state residents in a case related to the Cambridge Analytica data scandal, potentially increasing legal costs and scrutiny. Meta misled consumers in New Mexico jury case
• Negative Sentiment: A Muse security vulnerability was identified. Meta is adding clearer safety warnings after a vulnerability reportedly could expose sensitive user information, raising concerns about trust and adoption of its AI agent. Meta bolsters Muse safety warning after vulnerability
• Negative Sentiment: Competition and monetization obstacles remain. Amazon blocked Muse from accessing its platform, while privacy concerns around camera-equipped glasses and skepticism toward new AI hardware could limit Meta’s growth plans.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling adds a cautionary signal. Christopher Cox sold 40,000 shares and COO Javier Olivan sold shares under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans. The transactions do not necessarily indicate reduced confidence, but they add to concerns after the stock’s rapid advance.

About Meta Platforms

Meta Platforms, Inc develops technologies that help people connect, communicate and build communities online. The company’s principal products include Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp and Threads, which enable social networking, messaging, content sharing and digital communication.

Meta generates most of its business through advertising displayed across its family of apps. It also develops artificial intelligence technologies, business messaging tools and hardware and software through its Reality Labs division, including Quest virtual- and mixed-reality devices and related experiences.

The company was founded as Facebook in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg and was renamed Meta Platforms in 2021 to reflect its broader focus on building the metaverse.