Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Price Target Raised to $905.00

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) had its price target boosted by Citigroup from $895.00 to $905.00 in a research note released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the social networking company’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on META. Rothschild & Co Redburn lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Scotiabank increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Mizuho raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Erste Group Bank upgraded Meta Platforms from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $780.00 to $880.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $833.12.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of META opened at $642.62 on Thursday. Meta Platforms has a 12-month low of $520.26 and a 12-month high of $779.82. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.64 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.19. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $664.40 and its 200 day moving average price is $629.72.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 21st. The social networking company reported $7.40 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.54 by $0.86. The company had revenue of $64.60 billion during 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $7.25 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Meta Platforms will post 28.86 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 21st. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is 7.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Meta Platforms news, CFO Susan Li sold 9,196 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $550.61, for a total transaction of $5,063,409.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,186 shares in the company, valued at $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 SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Christopher Cox sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $712.76, for a total value of $28,510,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 184,516 shares in the company, valued at approximately $131,515,624.16. This represents a 17.82% 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 three months, insiders sold 149,906 shares of company stock valued at $102,347,409. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA now owns 277,550 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $201,274,000 after acquiring an additional 3,311 shares during the last quarter. Holos Integrated Wealth LLC increased its position in Meta Platforms by 9.3% in the 3rd quarter. Holos Integrated Wealth LLC now owns 515 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $363,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the period. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC increased its position in Meta Platforms by 256.6% in the 3rd quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 271 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $197,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares during the period. Hedeker Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 7.8% during the third quarter. Hedeker Wealth LLC now owns 21,500 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $15,591,000 after acquiring an additional 1,557 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nadler Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.8% during the third quarter. Nadler Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,688 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $3,400,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Meta Platforms

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.