Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Price Target Raised to $850.00

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) had its price objective boosted by Susquehanna from $650.00 to $850.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have a positive rating on the social networking company’s stock.

META has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Citic Securities reduced their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $770.00 to $718.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Meta Platforms from $720.00 to $580.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Moffett Nathanson cut their target price on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $740.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Wedbush increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $595.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 11th. Finally, Mizuho set a $750.00 price target on Meta Platforms and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $833.12.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 1.0%

NASDAQ META opened at $642.62 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $664.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $629.72. Meta Platforms has a one year low of $520.26 and a one year high of $779.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 1.90. The firm has a market cap of $1.64 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.19.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 21st. The social networking company reported $7.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.54 by $0.86. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 31.15% and a return on equity of 30.73%. The company had revenue of $64.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $63.34 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $7.25 EPS. Meta Platforms’s revenue was up 26.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Meta Platforms will post 28.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 21st were given a dividend of $0.5250 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 21st. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.91%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Christopher Cox sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $712.76, for a total transaction of $28,510,400.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 184,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $131,515,624.16. The trade was a 17.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal 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 946 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $707.20, for a total value of $669,011.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 5,986 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,233,299.20. This represents a 13.65% decrease in their position. 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. In the last three months, insiders sold 149,906 shares of company stock worth $102,347,409. Company insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fairtree Asset Management Pty Ltd boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 18.6% in the second quarter. Fairtree Asset Management Pty Ltd now owns 18,777 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $10,577,000 after acquiring an additional 2,939 shares during the last quarter. Madison Wealth Partners Inc grew its position in Meta Platforms by 33.6% during the second quarter. Madison Wealth Partners Inc now owns 3,031 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,707,000 after acquiring an additional 763 shares during the period. William John Sempolinski purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the second quarter valued at about $3,107,000. Sone Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 38.2% during the second quarter. Sone Capital Management LLC now owns 16,059 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $9,046,000 after acquiring an additional 4,440 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lakewood Capital Management LP increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 63.7% during the second quarter. Lakewood Capital Management LP now owns 115,985 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $65,333,000 after acquiring an additional 45,130 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

More Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Strong Q3 operating performance: Meta reported $64.6 billion in revenue, up 26% year over year, and adjusted earnings of $7.40 per share versus expectations of roughly $6.54. AI-driven recommendations and advertising tools are improving engagement, ad pricing and conversions. META Q3 Earnings Beat Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Muse adoption supports the AI thesis: Meta’s Muse AI agent has surpassed 10 million downloads, strengthening the case that the company could eventually monetize AI through subscriptions, enterprise services and additional advertising. However, meaningful revenue contribution is expected later, potentially from 2027 onward. Meta Muse Adoption
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain broadly constructive: UBS, Citigroup, Mizuho, JPMorgan, Bank of America and other firms raised or reaffirmed bullish ratings and price targets, citing resilient advertising growth and long-term AI potential. Some investors, including commentator Mike Khouw, view the selloff as a buying opportunity. Why Mike Khouw Is Buying Meta
• Neutral Sentiment: New Class C shares and a 2-for-1 split: Meta plans to issue one non-voting Class C share for each Class A and Class B share. The move should improve trading liquidity and give Mark Zuckerberg greater flexibility to sell shares or finance AI investment without surrendering voting control, but it does not by itself create economic value for shareholders. Meta’s New Non-Voting Shares
• Neutral Sentiment: Commercial terms delayed: Meta postponed controversial terms that publishers and advertisers said could authorize broader web scraping, moving implementation to November 20 from October 30. The delay may reduce near-term friction, though the underlying regulatory and customer concerns remain. Meta Delays Commercial Terms
• Negative Sentiment: AI spending is the main pressure: Meta lifted the lower end of its 2026 capital-expenditure forecast to $135 billion, with spending potentially reaching $145 billion. Free cash flow turned negative as infrastructure investment accelerated, while credit-default-swap costs reached records. Investors are questioning when Muse and other AI projects will generate returns. Meta AI Spending and Free Cash Flow
• Negative Sentiment: Legal and regulatory risks remain significant: Meta faces a $25 billion New Mexico privacy judgment, additional lawsuits alleging harm to children and scam advertising, and rising legal costs. The company plans to appeal the New Mexico ruling, but the liabilities add uncertainty and pressure margins. Meta New Mexico Privacy Judgment

About Meta Platforms

Meta Platforms, Inc is a technology company that develops social networking, messaging, virtual and augmented reality, and artificial intelligence products. The company’s principal platforms include Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp, and Threads, which enable users to connect, communicate, share content, and discover products and services.

Meta also operates Reality Labs, its division focused on virtual, augmented, and mixed reality technologies. Reality Labs develops products such as Meta Quest virtual reality headsets and related software and experiences, along with research and hardware intended to support immersive computing.