Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Receives $785.32 Average Price Target from Analysts

Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the forty-seven brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, thirty-five have issued a buy recommendation and four have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $785.3171.

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on META. Scotiabank reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $600.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Mizuho set a $750.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, July 30th. BNP Paribas Exane assumed coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Susquehanna lowered their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $650.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $805.00 to $780.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 1st.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other news, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 1,559 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $558.00, for a total transaction of $869,922.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,957 shares in the company, valued at $1,092,006. This trade represents a 44.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $561.56, for a total value of $280,780.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 2,943 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,652,671.08. This represents a 14.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 38,502 shares of company stock worth $22,603,485 in the last three months. Company insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Clarus Wealth Advisors boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 9.9% during the 2nd quarter. Clarus Wealth Advisors now owns 3,235 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,951,000 after acquiring an additional 292 shares during the period. Banco de Sabadell S.A lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 19.5% during the second quarter. Banco de Sabadell S.A now owns 6,054 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $3,409,000 after purchasing an additional 986 shares in the last quarter. Nan Shan Life Insurance Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 6.4% during the second quarter. Nan Shan Life Insurance Co. Ltd. now owns 157,555 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $88,749,000 after purchasing an additional 9,511 shares in the last quarter. Ironvine Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1,298.5% in the second quarter. Ironvine Capital Partners LLC now owns 49,129 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $27,674,000 after purchasing an additional 45,616 shares during the period. Finally, Independence Bank of Kentucky boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.9% in the second quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 18,198 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $10,251,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 0.0%

META opened at $545.83 on Tuesday. Meta Platforms has a one year low of $520.26 and a one year high of $790.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.39 trillion, a PE ratio of 20.56, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.25. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $593.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $615.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 2.23.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its 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 business had revenue of $60.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.22 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $7.14 EPS. Meta Platforms’s revenue was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Meta Platforms will post 28.5 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th were given a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.91%.

Key Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta launched Pocket in the United States, an AI-powered app that lets users create and share interactive games through prompts. The rollout could expand Meta’s consumer AI ecosystem and generate new engagement opportunities. Meta brings Pocket to US users
• Positive Sentiment: Meta also introduced a Mac version of Meta AI with system-wide dictation and screen-context capabilities. Separately, an analyst argued that the company’s substantial AI investments could unlock significant future revenue, supporting the long-term growth case. Meta AI launches Mac app
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth, CFO Susan Li and insider Curtis Mahoney disclosed stock sales totaling roughly $10.3 million. Each transaction was conducted under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, reducing its significance as a discretionary signal of management’s outlook, although the clustered sales may draw investor attention. Meta insider transaction filing
• Negative Sentiment: A federal trial involving California and 28 other states is intensifying. Former Meta employee Arturo Béjar testified that certain safety tools were “designed to fail,” reinforcing allegations that Facebook and Instagram were deliberately made addictive and that risks to young users were inadequately addressed. A loss could bring large penalties, mandated product changes and potential pressure on engagement and advertising monetization. Former employee testifies about Meta safety tools
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned that elevated AI infrastructure spending could weigh on second-half free cash flow, particularly after Meta’s recent earnings-per-share miss. The legal case, which some reports associate with potential liabilities reaching hundreds of billions of dollars or more, adds substantial downside risk to a stock already trading below its longer-term moving averages. Meta trial adds risk to stock

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.