Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Price Target Raised to $960.00

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) had its price target hoisted by Pivotal Research from $930.00 to $960.00 in a research note published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the social networking company’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. CICC Research cut their price objective on Meta Platforms from $773.00 to $700.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 31st. Tigress Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $945.00 target price (down from $995.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Meta Platforms from $830.00 to $750.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. DA Davidson cut their target price on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $700.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $900.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $833.12.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $642.62 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.64 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 1.90. Meta Platforms has a 52-week low of $520.26 and a 52-week high of $779.82. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $664.40 and a 200 day moving average of $629.72.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The social networking company reported $7.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.54 by $0.86. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 30.73% and a net margin of 31.15%. The business had revenue of $64.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.34 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $7.25 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms will post 28.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 21st were issued a $0.5250 dividend. The ex-dividend date was 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 currently 7.91%.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,848 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $558.00, for a total transaction of $4,379,184.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer owned 828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $462,024. This represents a 90.46% decrease in their position. The sale 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, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 27,474 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $777.44, for a total transaction of $21,359,386.56. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders have sold 149,906 shares of company stock valued at $102,347,409. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Watchman Group Inc. increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Watchman Group Inc. now owns 5,091 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,913,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. Penney Financial LLC raised its position in Meta Platforms by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Penney Financial LLC now owns 399 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $228,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Barnes Pettey Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Barnes Pettey Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,519 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $869,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the period. Bill Few Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Bill Few Associates Inc. now owns 1,206 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $874,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the period. Finally, Value Partners Investments Inc. grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 866 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $630,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.