Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Given New $805.00 Price Target at Stifel Nicolaus

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) had its target price trimmed by Stifel Nicolaus from $820.00 to $805.00 in a research note released on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the social networking company’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on META. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $900.00 target price (up from $870.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $910.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Mizuho upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $815.00 to $850.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $860.00 target price (up from $750.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $837.72.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 0.7%

NASDAQ META opened at $634.53 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $1.61 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.00, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.31. Meta Platforms has a fifty-two week low of $479.80 and a fifty-two week high of $796.25. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $627.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $652.48. The company has a quick ratio of 2.60, a current ratio of 2.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The social networking company reported $8.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.16 by $0.72. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.61% and a net margin of 30.08%.The company had revenue of $59.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.33 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $8.02 EPS. Meta Platforms’s quarterly revenue was up 23.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Meta Platforms will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th were given a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.94%.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 2,461 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Sunday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $639.77, for a total value of $1,574,473.97. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 12,108 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,746,335.16. This trade represents a 16.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 8,089 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $631.24, for a total transaction of $5,106,100.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 2,841 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,793,352.84. The trade was a 74.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 160,414 shares of company stock worth $102,659,925. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. Westchester Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the third quarter worth $26,000. RHL Group LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Niles Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth $42,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Trending Headlines about Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Industry forecasts say Meta could overtake Google as the world’s largest digital-ad company in 2026, boosting revenue growth expectations and advertiser leverage. Meta poised to surpass Google in digital ad revenue for first time, report says
• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s new AI model (Muse Spark) launch is being cited as a key catalyst — investors see product differentiation, ad targeting improvements and longer-term monetization upside from AI investments. Meta Platforms Finally Releases Muse Spark. Is the AI Model Worth the Wait?
• Positive Sentiment: Unity extended a multi-year platform support and enterprise agreement with Meta, reinforcing VR/AR partnerships that support long-term Metaverse/Reality Labs opportunities. Unity and Meta Extend Multi-Year Platform Support and Enterprise Agreement
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta will report Q1 2026 results after the market close on April 29; upcoming guidance and ad/AI metrics will likely drive near-term volatility. Meta to Announce First Quarter 2026 Results
• Neutral Sentiment: Retail/investor attention is elevated (search and coverage spikes), which can amplify moves around earnings and sector news. Investors Heavily Search Meta Platforms, Inc. (META)
• Negative Sentiment: Several analysts trimmed price targets (Stifel, Wolfe, KeyCorp), which can cap upside and signal more cautious near-term expectations despite buy ratings. Stifel Nicolaus lowers META price target
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory pressure: the Philippines and U.S. state attorneys general have pushed Meta to curb panic-inducing or scam content, creating potential compliance costs and reputational risk. Philippines Orders Meta to Tighten Measures Against ‘Panic-Inducing’ Fake News NY AG warns of social media investment scams on Meta platforms
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Meta is developing a photoreal AI “clone” of CEO Mark Zuckerberg for staff interactions raise privacy and governance concerns that could attract scrutiny. Meta is building a creepy AI clone of Mark Zuckerberg to chat with staff: report

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.