Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Price Target Raised to $940.00

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) had its target price increased by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $920.00 to $940.00 in a research report report published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the social networking company’s stock.

META has been the subject of several other research reports. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $830.00 to $750.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Mizuho set a $750.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. BNP Paribas Exane decreased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $955.00 to $855.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Arete Research lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $735.00 to $806.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 16th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $875.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Meta Platforms has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $833.12.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of META stock opened at $642.62 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $664.40 and a 200 day moving average of $629.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The stock has a market cap 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 has a twelve month low of $520.26 and a twelve month high of $779.82.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.54 by $0.86. The business had revenue of $64.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.34 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 31.15% and a return on equity of 30.73%. The company’s revenue was up 26.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $7.25 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Meta Platforms will post 28.86 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 21st were issued a dividend of $0.5250 per share. The ex-dividend date 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%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other news, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 40,000 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Monday, September 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $712.76, for a total value of $28,510,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 184,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $131,515,624.16. The trade was a 17.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 946 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $707.20, for a total value 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 approximately $4,233,299.20. This represents a 13.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 a total of 149,906 shares of company stock worth $102,347,409 over the last three months. Insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of META. Horizons Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the third quarter worth $33,000. Advantage Trust Co purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Philadelphia Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. Axiom Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Schuylkill Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Key Meta Platforms News

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.