Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Stock Gets Price Target Reduction from Cantor Fitzgerald

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) had its price target lowered by Cantor Fitzgerald from $860.00 to $840.00 in a research note published on Monday,Benzinga reports. Cantor Fitzgerald currently has an overweight rating on the social networking company’s stock.

META has been the subject of a number of other reports. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and issued a $886.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Wednesday, September 16th. Citic Securities reduced their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $770.00 to $718.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 3rd. DZ Bank reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $800.00 target price (down from $850.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Phillip Securities raised shares of Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $795.00 to $750.00 in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-five have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $801.53.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 3.3%

Shares of Meta Platforms stock opened at $737.54 on Monday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $650.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $623.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 2.23 and a quick ratio of 2.23. The firm has a market cap of $1.88 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.78, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.19. Meta Platforms has a 1 year low of $520.26 and a 1 year high of $779.82.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.19 by ($1.01). Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 33.18% and a net margin of 29.83%. The company had revenue of $60.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $60.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $7.14 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Meta Platforms will post 27.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 946 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $728.10, for a total transaction of $688,782.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 6,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,047,189.20. This represents a 12.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through 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 firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $777.44, for a total transaction of $21,359,386.56. 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 90 days, insiders sold 149,797 shares of company stock valued at $102,180,385. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. Auto Owners Insurance Co lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 76,587.7% in the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 105,292,277 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $69,502,379,000 after purchasing an additional 105,154,977 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LP boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 723.1% during the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 8,801,764 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $4,957,946,000 after purchasing an additional 7,732,446 shares in the last quarter. Jupiter Topco LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,948,486,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 488.1% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 5,466,595 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $3,608,445,000 after purchasing an additional 4,537,076 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 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 buying an additional 3,510,123 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s new Muse Wonder and Muse Wonder Full AI models are strengthening its competitive position. Muse Wonder ranked second in a 57-model accounting benchmark, ahead of OpenAI and Google models, supporting the view that Meta is narrowing the gap with leading AI developers. Muse Wonder benchmark article
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America reiterated its Buy rating and $810 price target, while Guggenheim raised its target to $850 and Truist maintained a bullish $1,000 target. Analysts cited Meta’s large user base, AI distribution and potential future revenue from personal AI agents. Bank of America AI outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Meta expanded WhatsApp with free guest voice and video calling for non-account holders, potentially improving adoption and business utility by removing registration and download barriers. WhatsApp guest calling article
• Neutral Sentiment: Wall Street remains broadly constructive but divided. KeyCorp and Rosenblatt reaffirmed bullish ratings with targets of $900 and $886, respectively, while Goldman Sachs cut its target from $860 to $762 but retained a Buy rating. The differing views reflect uncertainty over AI monetization and investment requirements.
• Negative Sentiment: Goldman Sachs cited rising operating expenses, while other commentary warned that accelerated Meta Superintelligence Labs investment could pressure free cash flow and lead to valuation compression around the upcoming third-quarter earnings report.
• Negative Sentiment: COO Javier Olivan disclosed sales totaling 1,575 shares at an average $728.10. Both transactions were conducted under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, reducing their signaling value, but the sales still represent a notable reduction in his direct holdings.

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 operates a global family of apps that includes Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp and Threads, enabling users to connect, communicate, share content and discover communities.

Meta generates most of its business through digital advertising displayed across its platforms. Its products serve individuals, creators, businesses and organizations in markets around the world, while its advertising tools help businesses reach audiences based on factors such as interests, activity and demographics.

Through its Reality Labs division, Meta develops virtual and augmented reality hardware, software and services, including the Meta Quest line of headsets and related experiences.