Analysts Set Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Target Price at $844.44

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the forty-nine analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, thirty-nine have issued a buy recommendation and three have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $844.4444.

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $900.00 target price (up from $870.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Roth Mkm dropped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $815.00 to $830.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META opened at $657.01 on Tuesday. Meta Platforms has a one year low of $479.80 and a one year high of $796.25. The company has a market cap of $1.66 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.28. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $656.04 and a 200-day moving average of $686.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.60 and a quick ratio of 2.60.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The social networking company reported $8.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.16 by $0.72. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.61% and a net margin of 30.08%.The business had revenue of $59.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.33 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $8.02 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 23.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Meta Platforms will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is currently 8.94%.

Key Headlines Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Major AMD GPU agreement strengthens Meta’s AI scale and supplier diversification, supporting long‑term ad/AI monetization potential even as it implies higher capital spending. META Taps AMD GPUs
• Positive Sentiment: Report that Meta will rent Google TPUs to accelerate model development gives the company faster access to compute and reduces dependence on any single vendor, aiding short‑term AI progress. Google signs multibillion-dollar AI chip deal with Meta
• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s quarterly cash dividend ($0.525/share) adds a modest income component and can help stabilize the stock amid a heavy AI capex cycle. MarketBeat META overview
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta is reportedly planning a stablecoin/payments pilot in H2 2026 — a long‑term monetization opportunity that could boost creator payouts and cross‑border settlement, but timing, partners and regulation remain key uncertainties. CoinDesk: Meta stablecoin plans
• Neutral Sentiment: Short interest in META declined meaningfully in February, reducing a potential downside crowd and making rallies easier to sustain (short‑covering risk lower).
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: CFO Susan Li reported large share sales (most recently disclosed Feb. 24 filing), and COO Javier Olivan sold shares — routine but can be interpreted negatively by some investors. SEC filing: Susan J. Li sale
• Negative Sentiment: Ongoing litigation and regulatory scrutiny — high‑profile U.S. trial over alleged social‑media harm and EU antitrust disputes — keep headline risk and potential compliance costs elevated. Reuters: social‑media trial Reuters: EU court adviser on antitrust
• Negative Sentiment: AI talent movement (e.g., OpenAI hiring a Meta researcher) and high ongoing capex projections (guidance points to elevated 2026 spending) are reminders that competition for talent and costly infrastructure could pressure margins before long‑term gains materialize. Reuters: OpenAI hires Meta researcher

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meta Platforms news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 8,089 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $631.24, for a total value of $5,106,100.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 2,841 shares in the company, valued at $1,793,352.84. This represents a 74.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 2,461 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Sunday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $639.77, for a total transaction of $1,574,473.97. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 12,108 shares in the company, valued at $7,746,335.16. This trade represents a 16.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 103,837 shares of company stock valued at $66,356,760. Insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Westchester Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Bare Financial Services Inc bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. RHL Group LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Briaud Financial Planning Inc bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter worth $42,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Meta Platforms

Meta Platforms, Inc (NASDAQ: META), formerly Facebook, Inc, is a global technology company best known for building social networking services and immersive computing platforms. Founded in 2004 and headquartered in Menlo Park, California, the company operates a family of consumer-facing products and services that connect users, creators and businesses. In October 2021 the company rebranded as Meta to reflect an expanded strategic focus on augmented and virtual reality technologies alongside its social media businesses.

Meta’s core consumer products include Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger, which enable social networking, messaging, content sharing and community building across mobile and desktop devices.