Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Price Target Raised to $875.00

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) had its price objective boosted by Jefferies Financial Group from $710.00 to $875.00 in a research note released on Tuesday, MarketBeat reports. Jefferies Financial Group currently has a buy rating on the social networking company’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Scotiabank reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $600.00 price objective (down from $700.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Erste Group Bank upgraded Meta Platforms from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $810.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, June 1st. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $800.00 price target (down from $850.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Wednesday, September 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Meta Platforms from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $640.00 to $820.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-four have issued a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $780.12.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

NASDAQ META opened at $777.59 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Meta Platforms has a 1 year low of $520.26 and a 1 year high of $779.82. The company has a market cap of $1.98 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.29, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.25. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $613.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $612.10.

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

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 946 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Monday, September 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $680.27, for a total transaction of $643,535.42. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 9,770 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,646,237.90. This trade represents a 8.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Christopher Cox sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $712.76, for a total value of $28,510,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 184,516 shares in the company, valued at $131,515,624.16. This trade represents a 17.82% decrease in their position. 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 worth $80,795,845. Corporate insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fairtree Asset Management Pty Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 18.6% in the 2nd quarter. Fairtree Asset Management Pty Ltd now owns 18,777 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $10,577,000 after purchasing an additional 2,939 shares in the last quarter. Madison Wealth Partners Inc raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 33.6% during the 2nd quarter. Madison Wealth Partners Inc now owns 3,031 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,707,000 after buying an additional 763 shares in the last quarter. Sone Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 38.2% during the 2nd quarter. Sone Capital Management LLC now owns 16,059 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $9,046,000 after buying an additional 4,440 shares during the last quarter. Lakewood Capital Management LP lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 63.7% during the 2nd quarter. Lakewood Capital Management LP now owns 115,985 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $65,333,000 after buying an additional 45,130 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Abbot Financial Management Inc. boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 53.5% in the second quarter. Abbot Financial Management Inc. now owns 2,845 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,603,000 after buying an additional 991 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Muse is strengthening Meta’s AI growth narrative. Muse reportedly reached the top of Apple’s U.S. free-app rankings and recorded approximately 642,000 U.S. daily active users during its first 12 days—outpacing ChatGPT’s early adoption at a comparable stage. Analysts see potential revenue from subscriptions, advertising, commerce and business services. Meta unveils Muse Charm handheld device as AI agent’s user base grows
• Positive Sentiment: Meta unveiled a broader AI hardware ecosystem. The company announced the Muse Charm handheld device for a planned December launch, camera-free Ray-Ban Meta Audio glasses and $1,299 Meta VR Glasses. Investors view these products as potential distribution channels for Muse and evidence that Meta is moving beyond advertising. Mark Zuckerberg debuts Meta VR Glasses and Muse Charm
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst price targets moved higher. JPMorgan raised its target to $920, Tigress Financial to $995, Loop Capital to $955, and Citizens JMP to $885. Several firms cited Muse’s potential to become a major consumer AI platform and a new monetization engine. Meta stock rises as analysts raise price targets
• Positive Sentiment: Agentic commerce could expand Meta’s revenue sources. Shopify, Instacart and other commerce partners are helping Muse facilitate transactions, potentially allowing Meta to earn fees on purchases rather than relying solely on ad impressions. Amazon blocked Meta’s AI shopping agent
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data is inconclusive. One report described a large increase in short interest but also listed total short interest at zero shares, indicating a likely data inconsistency rather than a meaningful change in bearish positioning.
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are questioning the cost of Meta’s AI push. Capital spending is projected to approach $145 billion, while reports point to sharply lower free cash flow. The stock’s strong recent rally also raises the risk of profit-taking and a valuation reset if monetization takes longer than expected. Meta surpassed Wall Street’s price target
• Negative Sentiment: Competition and privacy concerns remain. Amazon blocked Muse from accessing its marketplace, while backlash over camera-equipped glasses and broader AI privacy issues could slow adoption or increase regulatory scrutiny. Several Meta insiders also sold shares under pre-arranged trading plans.

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.