Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Receives $846.63 Average PT from Analysts

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the fifty ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, thirty-nine have assigned a buy recommendation and four have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $846.6304.

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on META shares. Wolfe Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $850.00 price objective (up from $800.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $872.00 price target (up from $830.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Mizuho increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $815.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $825.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $930.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META stock opened at $525.72 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.33 trillion, a PE ratio of 22.37, a PEG ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.30. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $643.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $667.32. 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 has a one year low of $479.80 and a one year high of $796.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released 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. The firm had revenue of $59.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.33 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 30.08% and a return on equity of 38.61%. The company’s revenue was up 23.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $8.02 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th were issued a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 16th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is presently 8.94%.

More Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Entergy revised its Louisiana data-center deal with Meta so Meta will pay full cost-of-service and fund local energy upgrades (including seven natural‑gas plants), reducing project/regulatory risk for the hyperscale build. Entergy revised Meta data-center deal (Reuters)
• Positive Sentiment: Some sell‑the‑news rhetoric has created value opportunities: analysts point to cheaper valuation metrics and upgraded EPS forecasts, with commentators highlighting potential cost-savings from restructuring. Meta Platforms: Lean Into The Fear (Seeking Alpha)
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta is aggressively doubling down on AI infrastructure (Arm CPU initiative, large new data‑center programs) — a long‑term strategic positive for AI monetization but a near‑term cash drain that fuels investor uncertainty. Meta deepens AI strategy with new Arm CPU initiative (Zacks)
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta paid its first 2026 dividend ($0.525/share) — a modest income signal to investors but not material to the valuation story. Meta paid dividend (Finbold)
• Negative Sentiment: Two recent jury verdicts (including a $375M award and punitive damages from a social‑media addiction case) have raised the prospect of broader legal liability, regulatory changes and appeals that could increase future costs and compliance expenses. Meta shares slip after US jury verdicts (Reuters)
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction: Meta joins a tech selloff this week (Nasdaq weakness), with share price declines of double‑digit percentages from recent highs as investors factor in litigation risk and margin pressure from AI capex. Tech stocks suffer worst week in nearly a year (CNBC)
• Negative Sentiment: Several outlets report steep intraday drops and heavy option activity as traders reposition; headlines argue the verdicts could trigger follow‑on litigation or regulatory remedies that resemble a “Big Tobacco”‑style reckoning. Meta stock plunges after lawsuit defeats (Blockonomi)

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 8,089 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $631.24, for a total transaction of $5,106,100.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer owned 2,841 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,793,352.84. This trade represents a 74.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 56,571 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $644.70, for a total transaction of $36,471,323.70. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 162,484 shares of company stock valued at $104,015,906. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Goldstone Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 44.4% during the 3rd quarter. Goldstone Financial Group LLC now owns 3,752 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,756,000 after acquiring an additional 1,153 shares during the period. CW Advisors LLC raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 27.8% in the 2nd quarter. CW Advisors LLC now owns 176,762 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $130,467,000 after acquiring an additional 38,432 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 34.2% in the 3rd quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 52,252 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $38,373,000 after acquiring an additional 13,311 shares during the period. Cherokee Insurance Co purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the second quarter valued at about $3,321,000. Finally, Becker Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 5.0% during the third quarter. Becker Capital Management Inc. now owns 35,052 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $25,741,000 after purchasing an additional 1,657 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Company Profile

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.