Meta Platforms’ (META) Buy Rating Reiterated at Guggenheim

Guggenheim reiterated their buy rating on shares of Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) in a research report report published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $850.00 price target on the social networking company’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on the stock. HSBC decreased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $905.00 to $830.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Evercore lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $820.00 to $860.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $763.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. Raymond James Financial boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $860.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $820.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 25th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $833.12.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 1.0%

Meta Platforms stock opened at $642.62 on Thursday. 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 stock has a market cap of $1.64 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.19. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $664.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $629.72. Meta Platforms has a one year low of $520.26 and a one year high of $779.82.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $64.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.34 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $7.25 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 26.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms will post 28.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 21st were issued 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 dividend payout ratio is currently 7.91%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,848 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 828 shares in the company, valued at $462,024. This trade represents a 90.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Aaron Anderson sold 3,240 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $618.06, for a total value of $2,002,514.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 6,271 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,875,854.26. The trade was a 34.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 149,906 shares of company stock valued at $102,347,409. Insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of META. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA raised its position in Meta Platforms by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA now owns 277,550 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $201,274,000 after buying an additional 3,311 shares during the last quarter. Holos Integrated Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter. Holos Integrated Wealth LLC now owns 515 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $363,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the period. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 256.6% during the 3rd quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 271 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $197,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares during the period. Hedeker Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 7.8% during the 3rd quarter. Hedeker Wealth LLC now owns 21,500 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $15,591,000 after acquiring an additional 1,557 shares during the period. Finally, Nadler Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Nadler Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,688 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $3,400,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about 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.