Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Stock Price Down 1.9% After Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) dropped 1.9% during trading on Monday after UBS Group lowered their price target on the stock from $865.00 to $766.00. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. Meta Platforms traded as low as $654.20 and last traded at $656.73. 18,971,869 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 13% from the average daily volume of 16,861,564 shares. The stock had previously closed at $669.21.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Raymond James Financial raised Meta Platforms from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price target on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $850.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Mizuho lowered their price target on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $835.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $840.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price objective on Meta Platforms from $820.00 to $800.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have issued a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $835.90.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 3,348 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.97, for a total value of $2,012,047.56. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 9,498 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,708,013.06. The trade was a 26.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction 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, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $607.75, for a total value of $303,875.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 3,443 shares in the company, valued at $2,092,483.25. This represents a 12.68% 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 40,083 shares of company stock worth $24,628,719. Corporate insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.

Key Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: UBS lowered its price target on Meta to $766 from $865, but kept a buy rating, which still implies meaningful upside from current levels and signals continued Wall Street confidence in the stock. Benzinga
• Positive Sentiment: Meta is expanding its Louisiana AI data center to 5 gigawatts and raising the project’s cost to over $50 billion, underscoring its commitment to AI infrastructure and long-term growth. Reuters
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple articles highlighted Meta’s aggressive AI push, including new custom AI chips, a lower-cost AI model for businesses, and broader optimism that the company is becoming more competitive in AI, which is helping investor sentiment. Motley Fool
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentary from Wall Street suggests the market is closely watching Meta’s capex plans, with expectations that the company’s heavy spending on AI could either validate future growth or pressure margins if returns take longer to materialize.
• Negative Sentiment: Meta pulled its AI image tool after privacy backlash, adding to concerns about product execution and reputation risks around its fast-moving AI rollout. PYMNTS
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Meta faces a $2 billion AI deal reversal in China and an EU probe into Facebook and Instagram design practices add regulatory and strategic headwinds. Yahoo Finance

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 34,551 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $20,230,000 after acquiring an additional 570 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,456 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $5,537,000 after purchasing an additional 875 shares during the period. Headwater Capital Co Ltd boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 294.7% in the 1st quarter. Headwater Capital Co Ltd now owns 150,000 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $86,454,000 after purchasing an additional 112,000 shares during the period. Dymon Asia Capital Singapore PTE. LTD. purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $213,000. Finally, Capital & Planning LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $322,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $598.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $626.85. The company has a market capitalization of $1.66 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.35.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.67 by $3.77. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 36.93% and a net margin of 32.84%.The business had revenue of $56.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $55.56 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $6.43 earnings per share. Meta Platforms’s revenue was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.46 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th were given a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.63%.

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.