Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Price Target Lowered to $910.00 at Pivotal Research

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) had its price target decreased by Pivotal Research from $930.00 to $910.00 in a research report released on Thursday morning, MarketBeat reports. Pivotal Research currently has a buy rating on the social networking company’s stock.

META has been the topic of a number of other reports. Wall Street Zen lowered Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 1st. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Meta Platforms from $820.00 to $815.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 23rd. Raymond James Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $800.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $785.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Wolfe Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $850.00 price target (up previously from $800.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $847.98.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 10.4%

META stock opened at $738.31 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $1.86 trillion, a PE 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 firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $649.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $696.14.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 for 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%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 23.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $8.02 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th were paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 9.28%.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $665.00, for a total value of $343,805.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 10,132 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,737,780. The trade was a 4.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $658.69, for a total transaction of $341,860.11. Following the transaction, the insider owned 28,658 shares in the company, valued at $18,876,738.02. This represents a 1.78% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 40,113 shares of company stock valued at $24,621,042. 13.61% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Meta Platforms

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Westchester Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the third quarter worth $26,000. Bare Financial Services Inc bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter worth $42,000. Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter worth $44,000. Finally, WFA Asset Management Corp boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 42.6% during the second quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 67 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. 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: 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.