Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Price Target Cut to $800.00 by Analysts at Raymond James Financial

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) had its price objective trimmed by Raymond James Financial from $825.00 to $800.00 in a report published on Monday, MarketBeat reports. The firm currently has a strong-buy rating on the social networking company’s stock.

META has been the topic of several other reports. Mizuho reduced their target price on Meta Platforms from $925.00 to $815.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Arete Research set a $718.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $720.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Erste Group Bank cut shares of Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Meta Platforms from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $822.00.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

NASDAQ META opened at $672.36 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The company has a market capitalization of $1.69 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.29. Meta Platforms has a 12-month low of $479.80 and a 12-month high of $796.25. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $643.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $696.35.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The social networking company reported $7.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.74 by $0.51. The company had revenue of $51.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $49.34 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 30.89% and a return on equity of 39.35%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $6.03 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th were issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 15th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is 9.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 6,875 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Saturday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $609.46, for a total value of $4,190,037.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 88,370 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $53,857,980.20. This represents a 7.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 11,690 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $593.31, for a total transaction of $6,935,793.90. Following the sale, the chief technology officer owned 2,415 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,432,843.65. This represents a 82.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 39,596 shares of company stock worth $24,277,237 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Westchester Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Bare Financial Services Inc bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 237.5% in the 2nd quarter. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC now owns 54 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Briaud Financial Planning Inc bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Knuff & Co LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter valued at $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta will test paid premium subscriptions across Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp that unlock advanced AI and exclusive features — a potential new recurring-revenue stream and direct monetization of AI capabilities. Meta to test premium subscriptions
• Positive Sentiment: Rothschild & Co (Redburn) upgraded META to a “buy” and raised its price target to $900, a bullish analyst endorsement that supports upside sentiment. Analyst upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and commentators continue to highlight Meta’s large cash generation and shareholder returns (centuries of buybacks/dividends-equivalent commentary), underscoring capital return potential as a support for the stock. Shareholder returns article
• Neutral Sentiment: Multiple firms trimmed price targets (Roth MKM, Raymond James, KeyCorp, Stifel) while many left buy/strong‑buy ratings intact — trimming near‑term upside expectations but not ending bullish views. Price target moves
• Neutral Sentiment: Q4 earnings and, importantly, 2026 expense/capex guidance are focal points this week — investors are positioning for details on AI infrastructure and Reality Labs spending that will drive near‑term volatility. Expense guidance focus
• Negative Sentiment: Meta temporarily blocked teens from interacting with some AI characters — a user‑experience/regulatory response that could limit engagement or product rollouts while safety policies are refined. Meta blocks teens from AI characters
• Negative Sentiment: Meta faces a high-profile trial this week over youth addiction claims alongside TikTok and YouTube, increasing legal and reputational risk that investors factor into valuation. Youth addiction trial
• Negative Sentiment: Countries are advancing restrictions on children’s social‑media use (e.g., Egypt exploring new limits), adding regulatory headwinds and potential regional usage impacts. Egypt social media restrictions
• Negative Sentiment: Ongoing investor concern over hefty AI infra and Reality Labs capex — even as management trims headcount — keeps valuation sensitive to guidance and near‑term margin pressure. Capex fears / pre-earnings

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.