Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Stock Gets Price Target Reduction from TD Cowen

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) had its price objective trimmed by TD Cowen from $865.00 to $850.00 in a report published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the social networking company’s stock.

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on META. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Meta Platforms from $1,000.00 to $995.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Moffett Nathanson decreased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $740.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $930.00 to $950.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 25th. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, CICC Research cut their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $773.00 to $700.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $833.12.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

NASDAQ META opened at $642.62 on Thursday. Meta Platforms has a 1-year low of $520.26 and a 1-year high of $779.82. The company has a market capitalization of $1.64 trillion, a P/E ratio of 21.91, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.19. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $664.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $629.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 2.23.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 21st. The social networking company reported $7.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.54 by $0.86. The firm had revenue of $64.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $63.34 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 30.73% and a net margin of 31.15%. Meta Platforms’s revenue was up 26.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $7.25 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Meta Platforms will post 28.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 27,474 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $777.44, for a total transaction of $21,359,386.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 946 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $707.20, for a total transaction of $669,011.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 5,986 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,233,299.20. The trade was a 13.65% 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 have sold a total of 149,906 shares of company stock valued at $102,347,409 over the last quarter. Insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 92,033,963 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $51,841,811,000 after acquiring an additional 3,510,123 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 14.6% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 21,038,035 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $12,036,491,000 after acquiring an additional 2,673,494 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 12,836,063 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $7,230,426,000 after acquiring an additional 162,909 shares during the last quarter. Amundi lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 18.1% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 11,858,972 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $6,784,873,000 after purchasing an additional 1,815,017 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 10,429,812 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $5,964,745,000 after purchasing an additional 404,948 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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: 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

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’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.