Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Price Target Raised to $892.00

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) had its price target increased by UBS Group from $884.00 to $892.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage 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. Moffett Nathanson dropped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $740.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 30th. President Capital upgraded Meta Platforms from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $660.00 to $897.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. Daiwa Securities Group reduced their target price on Meta Platforms from $790.00 to $687.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Meta Platforms from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $1,000.00 to $995.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $833.12.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 1.0%

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

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

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 21st. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is presently 7.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,848 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $558.00, for a total value of $4,379,184.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 828 shares in the company, valued at approximately $462,024. This trade represents a 90.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Susan Li sold 9,196 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was 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 owned 13,186 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,260,343.46. This trade represents a 41.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 149,906 shares of company stock valued at $102,347,409. Corporate insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Meta Platforms

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Advantage Trust Co purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the second quarter worth $28,000. Philadelphia Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the second quarter valued at $32,000. Horizons Wealth Management purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the third quarter valued at $33,000. Axiom Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the first quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Schuylkill Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the second quarter worth about $36,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms News Roundup

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.