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

Key Points

• Meta Platforms, Inc. has received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from 48 brokerages, with 39 analysts giving it a buy rating and four issuing a strong buy rating.
• In its latest earnings report, Meta exceeded expectations with $7.14 EPS and $47.52 billion in revenue, marking a 21.6% increase year-over-year.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.525 per share, translating to an annualized yield of 0.3% with a payout ratio of 7.60%.

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the forty-eight brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-nine have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $829.6591.

A number of brokerages have commented on META. Citigroup reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Scotiabank increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $685.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Loop Capital restated a "buy" rating and set a $980.00 price objective (up from $888.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $795.00 to $875.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $920.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, October 16th.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $733.27 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.84 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a 50 day moving average of $744.95 and a two-hundred day moving average of $686.70. Meta Platforms has a 52-week low of $479.80 and a 52-week high of $796.25. The company has a quick ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The social networking company reported $7.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.75 by $1.39. The business had revenue of $47.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $44.55 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 39.99% and a return on equity of 39.33%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.16 earnings per share. Meta Platforms has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Meta Platforms will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 22nd were given a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 22nd. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is presently 7.60%.

Insider Activity

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $707.85, for a total transaction of $367,374.15. Following the sale, the insider owned 28,794 shares in the company, valued at $20,381,832.90. This represents a 1.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $713.34, for a total value of $368,796.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 8,992 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,414,353.28. The trade was a 5.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 213,146 shares of company stock worth $164,196,453. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 34,551 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $20,230,000 after buying an additional 570 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC lifted 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 worth $5,537,000 after acquiring an additional 875 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 16.7% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 40,691 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $23,453,000 after acquiring an additional 5,829 shares during the period. 1776 Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 137.2% in the first quarter. 1776 Wealth LLC now owns 1,167 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $673,000 after acquiring an additional 675 shares during the period. Finally, Center For Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.5% during the first quarter. Center For Asset Management LLC now owns 4,390 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $2,530,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Company Profile

Meta Platforms, Inc engages in the development of products that enable people to connect and share with friends and family through mobile devices, personal computers, virtual reality headsets, and wearables worldwide. It operates in two segments, Family of Apps and Reality Labs. The Family of Apps segment offers Facebook, which enables people to share, discuss, discover, and connect with interests; Instagram, a community for sharing photos, videos, and private messages, as well as feed, stories, reels, video, live, and shops; Messenger, a messaging application for people to connect with friends, family, communities, and businesses across platforms and devices through text, audio, and video calls; and WhatsApp, a messaging application that is used by people and businesses to communicate and transact privately.

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