Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Upgraded by Rothschild & Co Redburn to Buy Rating

Rothschild & Co Redburn upgraded shares of Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Monday morning, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage currently has $900.00 target price on the social networking company’s stock, up from their prior target price of $740.00.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on META. Benchmark lowered shares of Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $1,117.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. KeyCorp dropped their price target on Meta Platforms from $905.00 to $875.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Meta Platforms from $820.00 to $815.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 23rd. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and set a $825.00 target price (down from $900.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Meta Platforms has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $822.00.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 2.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $672.36 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $643.56 and its 200 day moving average is $696.35. Meta Platforms has a 12-month low of $479.80 and a 12-month high of $796.25. The stock has a market cap 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 (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The social networking company reported $7.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.74 by $0.51. The business had revenue of $51.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $49.34 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 39.35% and a net margin of 30.89%.The business’s revenue was up 26.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $6.03 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Meta Platforms will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th were given a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 15th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.28%.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, CAO Aaron Anderson sold 726 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $591.60, for a total transaction of $429,501.60. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 6,035 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,570,306. This represents a 10.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $609.35, for a total transaction of $365,610.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 7,347 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,476,894.45. This trade represents a 7.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 39,596 shares of company stock valued at $24,277,237. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Meta Platforms

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $23,155,393,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 73,443.1% during the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,417,003 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $6,212,506,000 after acquiring an additional 8,405,558 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings 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 worth $64,158,971,000 after purchasing an additional 1,650,435 shares in the last quarter. Danske Bank A S bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the third quarter worth approximately $1,191,175,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.8% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 192,591,101 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $142,149,566,000 after purchasing an additional 1,532,568 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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

About Meta Platforms

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.