BMO Capital Markets Issues Positive Forecast for Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Stock Price

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) had its price target raised by BMO Capital Markets from $710.00 to $730.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. BMO Capital Markets currently has a market perform rating on the social networking company’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $808.00 to $890.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. DA Davidson set a $825.00 price objective on Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $872.00 price target (up from $830.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $847.98.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $738.31 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.86 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.98 and a quick ratio of 1.98. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $649.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $696.14. Meta Platforms has a 12 month low of $479.80 and a 12 month high of $796.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The social networking company reported $8.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.16 by $0.72. The firm had revenue of $59.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $58.33 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 39.91% and a net margin of 30.08%.Meta Platforms’s revenue was up 23.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $8.02 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Meta Platforms will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th were issued a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 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 9.28%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meta Platforms news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 11,690 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $593.31, for a total transaction of $6,935,793.90. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 2,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,432,843.65. The trade was a 82.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 600 shares of the business’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 sale, the director owned 7,347 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,476,894.45. This 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 ninety days, insiders sold 40,113 shares of company stock worth $24,621,042. 13.61% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Meta Platforms

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors now owns 3,506 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,587,000 after acquiring an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. Hemington Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.6% during the second quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 2,223 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,641,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the period. Trust Co of the South lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.8% during the third quarter. Trust Co of the South now owns 1,850 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,359,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Sentinel Pension Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.6% in the third quarter. Sentinel Pension Advisors LLC now owns 915 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $672,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the period. Finally, Alpine Bank Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.3% in the third quarter. Alpine Bank Wealth Management now owns 4,301 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $3,159,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 beat and strong guidance — Meta reported $59.9B revenue and $8.88 EPS (both above estimates) and guided Q1 revenue to $53.5B–$56.5B, signaling continued ad strength and giving investors confidence the AI investments are starting to lift monetization. CNBC: Meta beats on top, bottom lines, gives stronger-than-expected forecast
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street upgrades and target increases — Multiple firms raised price targets and ratings after the print, reflecting renewed analyst conviction in revenue upside and AI tailwinds (several targets now imply double‑digit upside). MarketBeat: Meta Soars After-Hours
• Positive Sentiment: Technical/market momentum — Analysts and technical commentators note the stock reclaimed key levels and is showing breakout momentum after earnings, which supports further near‑term buying. FXEmpire: Technical Breakout Signals Higher Prices
• Neutral Sentiment: Local PR / community investment — Meta committed $50M to develop a Sac State downtown center; positive for brand and local relations but unlikely to move fundamentals materially. BizJournals: Meta commits $50M to Sac State downtown center
• Neutral Sentiment: Product tests to diversify revenue — Meta is testing premium subscription tiers across Instagram/Facebook/WhatsApp; potential upside long term but unclear near‑term revenue impact. CNET: Meta confirms testing of premium subscriptions
• Negative Sentiment: Huge 2026 CapEx ramp announced — Management expects 2026 capital expenditures of roughly $115B–$135B to build AI infrastructure, a front‑loaded commitment that raises questions about near‑term returns and margin pressure. Reuters: Meta expects annual capital expenditures to rise
• Negative Sentiment: Reality Labs remains a drag — The XR/Reality Labs unit posted an operating loss (~$6.02B in Q4) and prior reporting shows large cash burn, highlighting ongoing margin risk. CNBC: Reality Labs posts $6.02B loss
• Negative Sentiment: XR cash burn and uncertainty — Reporting that Reality Labs burned ~$19B recently (and has had layoffs) is a reminder that Meta’s non‑ad investments are costly and uncertain. TechCrunch: Meta burned $19B on VR
• Negative Sentiment: Small insider sale — COO Javier Oliván sold 517 shares (disclosed); amount is modest but some investors note insider sales when evaluating sentiment. SEC filing: Oliván insider sale

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.