Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Upgraded at President Capital

President Capital upgraded shares of Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Thursday. The brokerage currently has $897.00 price target on the social networking company’s stock, up from their previous price target of $660.00.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on META. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $710.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Rothschild & Co Redburn lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Benchmark reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, August 27th. Finally, Mizuho set a $750.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-four have assigned a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $785.90.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 3.3%

META opened at $751.66 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 2.23 and a quick ratio of 2.23. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $615.16 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $613.07. Meta Platforms has a 1-year low of $520.26 and a 1-year high of $779.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.91 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.19 by ($1.01). The company had revenue of $60.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.22 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 33.18% and a net margin of 29.83%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $7.14 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Meta Platforms will post 27.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 3,348 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.97, for a total transaction of $2,012,047.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 9,498 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,708,013.06. This trade represents a 26.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,848 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $558.00, for a total transaction of $4,379,184.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 123,333 shares of company stock valued at $80,795,845 over the last three months. Company insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 5.5% in the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 372,579 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $209,870,000 after buying an additional 19,353 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 6.4% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 119,557 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $67,330,000 after acquiring an additional 7,184 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,236,516 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,823,088,000 after acquiring an additional 64,136 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 92,033,963 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $51,841,811,000 after acquiring an additional 3,510,123 shares during the period. Finally, Silicon Valley Capital Partners grew its position in Meta Platforms by 13.9% in the 2nd quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners now owns 74,799 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $42,134,000 after acquiring an additional 9,114 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meta Platforms News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Muse momentum remains the main bullish catalyst. Early reviews, rising user traction and Meta’s new early-access program for upcoming Muse features are reinforcing expectations that the AI assistant could become a major consumer product and future revenue stream. Meta opens early access program for new Muse features
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts are raising price targets. Deutsche Bank, TD Cowen, Canaccord Genuity and other firms lifted targets and maintained bullish ratings, citing Muse’s potential to expand Meta beyond advertising through subscriptions, commerce and AI services. Meta price targets raised as Muse gains momentum
• Positive Sentiment: AI hardware could broaden Muse’s distribution. Meta is integrating Muse into Ray-Ban AI glasses and introducing additional wearable and VR products, creating potential new hardware, services and commerce opportunities.
• Neutral Sentiment: Friday’s decline appears largely technical. After rising roughly 36% during September and approaching a $2 trillion market value, Meta faced profit-taking and a pullback from recent highs. Bullish options activity suggests some traders continue to view the weakness as a buying opportunity.
• Neutral Sentiment: Large capital spending remains a key debate. Investors are encouraged by Meta’s AI strategy but remain uncertain whether heavy spending on infrastructure and Reality Labs will generate sufficient returns.
• Negative Sentiment: New Mexico litigation adds regulatory risk. A jury found that Meta misled state residents in a case related to the Cambridge Analytica data scandal, potentially increasing legal costs and scrutiny. Meta misled consumers in New Mexico jury case
• Negative Sentiment: A Muse security vulnerability was identified. Meta is adding clearer safety warnings after a vulnerability reportedly could expose sensitive user information, raising concerns about trust and adoption of its AI agent. Meta bolsters Muse safety warning after vulnerability
• Negative Sentiment: Competition and monetization obstacles remain. Amazon blocked Muse from accessing its platform, while privacy concerns around camera-equipped glasses and skepticism toward new AI hardware could limit Meta’s growth plans.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling adds a cautionary signal. Christopher Cox sold 40,000 shares and COO Javier Olivan sold shares under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans. The transactions do not necessarily indicate reduced confidence, but they add to concerns after the stock’s rapid advance.

Meta Platforms Company Profile

Meta Platforms, Inc develops technologies that help people connect, communicate and build communities online. The company’s principal products include Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp and Threads, which enable social networking, messaging, content sharing and digital communication.

Meta generates most of its business through advertising displayed across its family of apps. It also develops artificial intelligence technologies, business messaging tools and hardware and software through its Reality Labs division, including Quest virtual- and mixed-reality devices and related experiences.

The company was founded as Facebook in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg and was renamed Meta Platforms in 2021 to reflect its broader focus on building the metaverse.