Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Given “Hold” Rating at Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC reiterated their hold rating on shares of Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) in a research note published on Thursday,Benzinga reports.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on META. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $785.00 to $820.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Redburn Partners set a $900.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $825.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $815.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $810.00 to $885.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $847.98.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 10.4%

NASDAQ META opened at $738.31 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $1.86 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.42, 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 company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.98 and a quick ratio of 1.98. The company has a 50-day moving average of $649.61 and a 200-day moving average of $696.14.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The social networking company reported $8.88 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 analyst estimates of $58.33 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 30.08% and a return on equity of 39.91%. Meta Platforms’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $8.02 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Meta Platforms will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.28%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 6,875 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Saturday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $609.46, for a total value of $4,190,037.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 88,370 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $53,857,980.20. This trade represents a 7.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 6,035 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,570,306. This trade represents a 10.74% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 40,113 shares of company stock worth $24,621,042 over the last three months. Company insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Meta Platforms

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter valued at about $23,155,393,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 73,443.1% during the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,417,003 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $6,212,506,000 after purchasing an additional 8,405,558 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Meta Platforms by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 199,995,630 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $132,015,115,000 after purchasing an additional 7,269,279 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 86,925,674 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $64,158,971,000 after buying an additional 1,650,435 shares during the period. Finally, Danske Bank A S acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,191,175,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

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

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.