Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Price Target Lowered to $780.00 at Stifel Nicolaus

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) had its price objective lowered by Stifel Nicolaus from $805.00 to $780.00 in a research report released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the social networking company’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on META. Truist Financial cut their price objective on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $840.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Citizens Jmp reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $900.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price objective on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $850.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $810.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Friday, March 27th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $840.67.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META stock traded down $3.17 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $608.74. The stock had a trading volume of 21,333,782 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,106,400. The business’s fifty day moving average is $629.62 and its 200-day moving average is $648.40. The company has a current ratio of 2.35, a quick ratio of 2.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The firm has a market cap of $1.54 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.13, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.31. Meta Platforms has a 1-year low of $520.26 and a 1-year high of $796.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.67 by $3.77. The business had revenue of $56.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.56 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 36.93% and a net margin of 32.84%.The company’s revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $6.43 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms will post 29.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th were paid a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 16th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 7.63%.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 629 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $670.84, for a total value of $421,958.36. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 2,372 shares in the company, valued at $1,591,232.48. This represents a 20.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 580 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $667.00, for a total value of $386,860.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 3,847 shares in the company, valued at $2,565,949. The trade was a 13.10% decrease in their position. 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. Insiders sold 167,155 shares of company stock worth $107,067,129 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Persium Advisors LLC boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 9.8% during the first quarter. Persium Advisors LLC now owns 1,305 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $747,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. CAP Partners LLC boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 6.3% during the first quarter. CAP Partners LLC now owns 1,287 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $737,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 105.5% during the first quarter. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. now owns 131,746 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $75,376,000 after purchasing an additional 67,625 shares in the last quarter. Global Assets Advisory LLC boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 9.4% during the first quarter. Global Assets Advisory LLC now owns 6,635 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $3,796,000 after purchasing an additional 570 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 1.0% during the first quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC now owns 23,371 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $13,371,000 after purchasing an additional 242 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 beat & AI ad momentum — Meta reported robust Q1 revenue and EPS, and management highlighted AI-driven ad tools and full‑stack model+chip co‑design that are expanding ad automation and advertiser reach. Meta Does Things Their Own Way
• Positive Sentiment: Robotics/AI talent add — Meta acquired humanoid‑robot startup Assured Robot Intelligence to accelerate robotics model optimization, signaling product diversification in AI/robotics. WSJ: Meta Acquires Assured Robot Intelligence
• Positive Sentiment: Energy and creator initiatives — Meta is signing energy partnerships (space solar/long‑duration storage) to secure power for compute-heavy AI centers and piloting stablecoin creator payouts — moves that support long‑term AI scale and monetization. AI drives growth (context)
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst reactions mixed — Some firms (e.g., Stifel) trimmed price targets but retained “buy”; others raised targets on longer‑term AI upside. These tweaks sustain divergent Wall Street views on valuation vs. heavy CapEx. Benzinga: Analyst Moves
• Neutral Sentiment: Insider sales disclosed — COO Javier Oliván sold shares under a Rule 10b5‑1 plan; routine but notable given market noise. SEC Filing
• Negative Sentiment: Large CapEx raise spooks investors — Meta lifted 2026 capital expenditure guidance materially (now targeting major AI data‑center buildout), prompting concerns about near‑term free‑cash‑flow and returns; that is the primary reason the stock has been sold. Reuters: CapEx & market reaction
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory/legal pressure — Threats to pull apps from New Mexico over child‑safety rules and US senators’ scrutiny over ad removals amplify litigation/compliance risk and potential costs. Reuters: Lawmaker Scrutiny
• Negative Sentiment: Reality Labs losses & deal setbacks — Continued multi‑billion losses in Reality Labs and a blocked Manus acquisition in China highlight near‑term cash drag and execution risks on speculative bets. CNBC: Reality Labs Loss

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.