Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Shares Down 1.6% – What’s Next?

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)’s stock price traded down 1.6% on Tuesday. The stock traded as low as $681.05 and last traded at $694.25. Approximately 16,648,654 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 5% from the average session volume of 17,496,723 shares. The stock had previously closed at $705.44.

Key Headlines Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s Muse AI companion has surpassed 10 million U.S. downloads in its first 40 days, reaching 10.9 million total downloads. The early traction supports the view that Meta can use its large user base to develop new advertising, commerce and AI-agent revenue streams. Meta’s Muse reaches 10 million U.S. downloads
• Positive Sentiment: Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed its buy rating and assigned an $886 price target, implying substantial upside from current levels. Analysts also expect higher advertising revenue, stronger engagement and growing AI monetization to support third-quarter results. Zacks Meta earnings preview
• Neutral Sentiment: Global affairs chief Joel Kaplan will leave Meta after 15 years. His departure follows the increased prominence of President Dina Powell McCormick and may change the company’s political and regulatory strategy, although the immediate financial impact is unclear. Reuters report on Joel Kaplan’s departure
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta told a Brazilian court that it treats the campaigns of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and former President Jair Bolsonaro equally. The statement addresses political-content concerns but does not appear to alter the company’s near-term earnings outlook. Meta’s Brazil court statement
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned that Meta’s AI buildout will require elevated capital expenditures and cash usage. The stock has extended a multi-session decline ahead of earnings, with the market looking for evidence that AI investments are translating into revenue growth rather than weighing on profitability. Reuters report on Meta’s AI spending and earnings

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on META shares. Citic Securities reduced their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $770.00 to $718.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Loop Capital raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $740.00 to $955.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. Raymond James Financial boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $860.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $860.00 to $840.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 12th. Finally, Erste Group Bank raised shares of Meta Platforms from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Meta Platforms has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $811.24.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $1.77 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.14, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a 50 day moving average of $657.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $627.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 2.23 and a quick ratio of 2.23.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $60.22 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 29.83% and a return on equity of 33.18%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $7.14 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 28th. Investors of record on Monday, September 21st were paid a $0.5250 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend 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 Buying and Selling

In related news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,848 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $462,024. This trade represents a 90.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 27,474 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 24th. The stock was 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. Insiders sold 148,331 shares of company stock worth $101,233,569 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in META. Auto Owners Insurance Co grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 76,587.7% during the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 105,292,277 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $69,502,379,000 after buying an additional 105,154,977 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased 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 valued at $51,841,811,000 after acquiring an additional 3,510,123 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 14.6% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 21,038,035 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $12,036,491,000 after acquiring an additional 2,673,494 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 12,836,063 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $7,230,426,000 after acquiring an additional 162,909 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 18.1% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 11,858,972 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $6,784,873,000 after acquiring an additional 1,815,017 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Company Profile

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.