Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Price Target Cut to $800.00 by Analysts at Roth Mkm

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) had its price target trimmed by Roth Mkm from $845.00 to $800.00 in a research note released on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the social networking company’s stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. BNP Paribas Exane started coverage on Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, November 24th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $800.00 target price for the company. Arete Research set a $718.00 price objective on Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $720.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Citizens Jmp reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $900.00 price target (up from $750.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Finally, Redburn Partners set a $900.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $822.00.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $672.36 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $643.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $696.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.69 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.70, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Meta Platforms has a 52-week low of $479.80 and a 52-week high of $796.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The social networking company reported $7.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.74 by $0.51. The business had revenue of $51.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $49.34 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 39.35% and a net margin of 30.89%.Meta Platforms’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $6.03 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Meta Platforms will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.28%.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 580 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $618.28, for a total transaction of $358,602.40. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 5,587 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,454,330.36. This represents a 9.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $608.35, for a total value of $314,516.95. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 10,649 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,478,319.15. This represents a 4.63% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 39,596 shares of company stock valued at $24,277,237. Insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 192,591,101 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $142,149,566,000 after acquiring an additional 1,532,568 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.9% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 86,925,674 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $64,158,971,000 after purchasing an additional 1,650,435 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.3% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 51,575,209 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $37,902,948,000 after purchasing an additional 682,768 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.7% in the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 39,247,690 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $28,823,375,000 after purchasing an additional 278,180 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the second quarter worth $23,155,393,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

More Meta Platforms News

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.