Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Price Target Raised to $850.00 at DA Davidson

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) had its price objective boosted by DA Davidson from $825.00 to $850.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the social networking company’s stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on META. Raymond James Financial lowered their target price on Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $800.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $810.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday. Oppenheimer lowered shares of Meta Platforms from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $900.00 price target (up from $870.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $930.00 and gave the stock 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 assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $847.98.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

META opened at $738.31 on Thursday. Meta Platforms has a 52-week low of $479.80 and a 52-week high of $796.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a current ratio of 1.98. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $649.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $696.14. The stock has a market capitalization 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 (NASDAQ:META) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The social networking company reported $8.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.16 by $0.72. The business 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%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 23.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $8.02 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Meta Platforms will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 15th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Aaron Anderson sold 726 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $591.60, for a total value of $429,501.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 6,035 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,570,306. This trade represents a 10.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 11,690 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $593.31, for a total value of $6,935,793.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer owned 2,415 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,432,843.65. The trade was a 82.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 40,113 shares of company stock valued at $24,621,042 in the last quarter. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 34,551 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $20,230,000 after purchasing an additional 570 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,456 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $5,537,000 after purchasing an additional 875 shares during the last quarter. Headwater Capital Co Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 294.7% in the first quarter. Headwater Capital Co Ltd now owns 150,000 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $86,454,000 after buying an additional 112,000 shares during the last quarter. Kooman & Associates boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Kooman & Associates now owns 544 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $402,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Global Advisors LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms by 41.7% during the second quarter. Eagle Global Advisors LLC now owns 28,955 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $21,371,000 after buying an additional 8,527 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Meta Platforms

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.