Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Price Target Lowered to $820.00 at Bank of America

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) had its price target reduced by Bank of America from $885.00 to $820.00 in a research report report published on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the social networking company’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on META. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $775.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $815.00 to $830.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Citigroup reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $800.00 price objective (up from $770.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $836.30.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

NASDAQ META opened at $670.91 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $1.70 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.60 and a quick ratio of 2.60. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $627.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $650.39. Meta Platforms has a 1-year low of $479.80 and a 1-year high of $796.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The social networking company reported $8.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.16 by $0.72. The company had revenue of $59.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.33 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.61% and a net margin of 30.08%.Meta Platforms’s revenue was up 23.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $8.02 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms will post 29.83 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Investors of record on Monday, March 16th were paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 16th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is presently 8.94%.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 2,778 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $629.45, for a total transaction of $1,748,612.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 10,557 shares in the company, valued at $6,645,103.65. The trade was a 20.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 580 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $667.00, for a total value of $386,860.00. Following the sale, the director owned 3,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,565,949. The trade was a 13.10% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 164,562 shares of company stock valued at $105,310,238. 13.61% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. Westchester Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. RHL Group LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Niles Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta expanded its AI infrastructure strategy by partnering with Broadcom to develop custom AI chips, a move investors view as reducing dependence on NVIDIA and potentially lowering long‑term AI costs. The Meta‑Broadcom AI Chip Deal
• Positive Sentiment: Performance divergence vs. Alphabet highlights Meta’s stronger recent investor returns and market leadership in ad recovery and AI monetization, supporting a bullish narrative on share appreciation. Meta vs. Alphabet: One Just Handed Investors a 40% Return
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts continue to call Meta a momentum buy after strong app metrics and downloads; Barclays reaffirmed a Buy and other outlets highlight long‑term momentum, which helps underpin demand for the shares. Meta Gets Analyst Approval After Record App Downloads
• Neutral Sentiment: Bank of America trimmed its price target to $820 from $885 but kept a Buy rating — a modest downgrade to upside while signaling confidence in Meta’s ad and AI positioning. BofA Trims Meta Price Target to $820
• Neutral Sentiment: Multiple pre‑earnings writeups and fund‑level analyses (Rowan Street Capital, InsiderMonkey pieces) are increasing investor attention ahead of results — this raises volatility but not a clear directional signal. Rowan Street Capital’s Analysis on Meta
• Negative Sentiment: Meta is preparing a large round of layoffs beginning May 20 (reported as ~10% of headcount), which signals cost pressure from rising AI infrastructure spending and raises near‑term execution risks and employee disruption. Meta Prepares for “May 20” Layoffs
• Negative Sentiment: An SEC filing shows a Meta director sold about $386,860 in stock; insider sales can create short‑term selling pressure or signal portfolio rebalancing concerns. Director Sells $386,860 in Stock
• Negative Sentiment: Competition is intensifying as Apple tests AI‑powered smart glasses — a credible rival in the AR hardware race that could pressure future device monetization. How Apple Plans to Compete with Meta In Smart Glasses

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.