Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Stock Has Average Target Price of $833.12

Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fifty-seven research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, forty-seven have assigned a buy recommendation and three have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $833.12.

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded Meta Platforms from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $775.00 to $820.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $885.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. TD Cowen dropped their target price on Meta Platforms from $865.00 to $850.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $850.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd.

More Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s bond sale attracted orders reportedly reaching $58 billion, a sign of robust investor appetite for the company’s debt. That demand may have helped support the stock despite concerns about Big Tech’s AI spending. Article: Meta stock rises as $20B bond sale attracts strong investor demand
• Positive Sentiment: Meta completed a $15 billion, five-part U.S. bond sale. The successful issuance gives the company capital to support its investment plans, while recent earnings-call coverage highlighted ad growth and adoption of its Muse AI tools. Article: Meta raises $15 billion in five-part US bond sale Article: META Q3 Earnings Call Put Spotlight on Muse Growth and AI Spending
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta and Snap settled claims related to alleged harm to young users from social media; financial terms were not disclosed. The settlements avert the scheduled trial, but do not resolve broader scrutiny of platform design. Article: Snap Settled a Social Media Addiction Suit
• Negative Sentiment: The bond financing underscores the cost of Meta’s AI ambitions. Reports indicate borrowing costs rose, while the company is ramping up spending on data centers and AI models—raising questions about returns and pressure on future cash flow. Article: Apple Shares Slip, Meta Debt Costs Rise Article: Meta seeks to raise up to $25 billion in debt sale as AI spending jumps
• Negative Sentiment: Meta postponed new business terms after backlash over potential web scraping, and reports of its AI crawler overwhelming a small business website add to reputational and policy risks. Article: Meta delays new business terms after outcry over potential web scraping of news sites

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 9,196 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $550.61, for a total value of $5,063,409.56. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,186 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,260,343.46. This trade represents a 41.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing 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, CAO Aaron Anderson sold 3,240 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $618.06, for a total value of $2,002,514.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 6,271 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,875,854.26. The trade was a 34.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 149,515 shares of company stock valued at $102,183,520. 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 the stock. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.0% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 92,033,963 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $51,841,811,000 after buying an additional 3,510,123 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 14.6% during the 1st 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 buying an additional 2,673,494 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.3% during 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 valued at $7,230,426,000 after buying an additional 162,909 shares in the last quarter. Amundi grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 18.1% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 11,858,972 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $6,784,873,000 after acquiring an additional 1,815,017 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 10,429,812 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $5,964,745,000 after acquiring an additional 404,948 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of META opened at $621.03 on Friday. Meta Platforms has a 1-year low of $520.26 and a 1-year high of $779.82. The stock has a market cap of $1.59 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.28. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $672.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $632.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.90.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The social networking company reported $7.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.54 by $0.86. The business had revenue of $64.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.34 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 31.15% and a return on equity of 30.73%. The business’s revenue was up 26.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $7.25 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Meta Platforms will post 29.01 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 21st were given a $0.5250 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 21st. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.16%.

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.