Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Given Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts: Fifty firms give Meta a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" (38 buys, 8 holds, 4 strong buys) with an average 12‑month price target of about $837.72.
• Strategic catalysts: Meta struck a multi‑year deal with Broadcom for custom AI chips and faces industry forecasts to surpass Google in digital ad revenue this year, with Q1 earnings on April 29 serving as a near‑term catalyst.
• Insiders & results: Insiders sold 160,414 shares (~$102.66M) in the last three months (including a large CFO sale), even as Meta reported Q4 EPS of $8.88 (beat) and revenue of $59.89B, up 23.8% year‑over‑year.

Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" by the fifty research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-eight have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $837.7174.

Several research firms have recently commented on META. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $900.00 target price (up from $870.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $800.00 price objective (up from $770.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $810.00 to $885.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $825.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Arete Research reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, March 5th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 56,571 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $644.70, for a total value of $36,471,323.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 2,461 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Sunday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $639.77, for a total value of $1,574,473.97. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 12,108 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,746,335.16. This trade represents a 16.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 160,414 shares of company stock valued at $102,659,925 in the last three months. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 34,551 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $20,230,000 after acquiring an additional 570 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,456 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $5,537,000 after acquiring an additional 875 shares during the last quarter. Headwater Capital Co Ltd lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 294.7% during the 1st quarter. Headwater Capital Co Ltd now owns 150,000 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $86,454,000 after acquiring an additional 112,000 shares during the last quarter. Dymon Asia Capital Singapore PTE. LTD. acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter valued at $213,000. Finally, Capital & Planning LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter valued at $322,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 4.4%

NASDAQ:META opened at $662.36 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.68 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.31. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $626.76 and a 200-day moving average of $651.90. Meta Platforms has a 52 week low of $479.80 and a 52 week high of $796.25. The company has a current ratio of 2.60, a quick ratio of 2.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The social networking company reported $8.88 EPS 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 analyst estimates of $58.33 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.61% and a net margin of 30.08%.The business's revenue was up 23.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $8.02 earnings per share. 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 Thursday, March 26th. Investors of record on Monday, March 16th were issued a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 16th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is 8.94%.

Meta Platforms News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta struck a multi‑year strategic deal with Broadcom to support its in‑house MTIA (training & inference) chips and committed to a large-scale (multi‑gigawatt / one‑gigawatt) infrastructure rollout through 2029 — a major capex and AI-infrastructure win that de‑risks Meta’s chip roadmap and supports long‑term AI margin leverage. Meta inks deal with Broadcom for custom AI chips
• Positive Sentiment: Industry data (eMarketer/WSJ coverage) projects Meta will overtake Google as the world’s largest digital‑ad seller this year — a bullish revenue narrative that supports higher ad monetization expectations heading into Q1 results. Meta poised surpass Google in digital ad revenue
• Positive Sentiment: Prominent investors and some sell‑side coverage continue to back Meta as a growth name (Bank of America, Philippe Laffont mentions, Bill Ackman interest), which can attract flows and support multiple expansion versus peers. Wall Street Firms Assert Meta as a Top Growth Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta scheduled its Q1 2026 earnings release for April 29 — a near‑term catalyst where ad growth and AI spend commentary could move the stock materially. Meta to Announce First Quarter 2026 Results
• Neutral Sentiment: Several analysts trimmed price targets (Stifel, Wolfe Research) but maintained constructive ratings — modest recalibration rather than a broad sell‑signal; watch revisions after the April earnings print. Stifel target cut on META
• Neutral Sentiment: Company disclosed upcoming board changes (including director Hock E. Tan), which investors will monitor for governance and potential conflicts related to the Broadcom relationship. Meta Platforms Announces Upcoming Board of Directors Changes
• Negative Sentiment: An Italian court approved a class action over Facebook data scraping in Italy, exposing Meta to potential damages, legal costs and reputational risk in Europe. Italy court allows class action against Meta
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory pressure persists — the Philippines ordered Meta to tighten measures against “panic‑inducing” fake news, and other jurisdictions’ scrutiny of platform content and scams could weigh on operations and compliance costs. Philippines Orders Meta to Tighten Measures
• Negative Sentiment: Internal AI experiments (e.g., a photorealistic AI likeness of Mark Zuckerberg for employees) have drawn critical press and could pose short‑term PR/reputational headwinds. Meta builds AI replica of Zuckerberg

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.

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