Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Stock Price Down 1.2% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Meta shares were down 1.2%, trading as low as $595.40 and last at $602.01 on Monday, with volume of ~16.4M shares — about 7% above the average.
• Analysts have raised price targets (average target $827.60) and the stock carries a consensus rating of Moderate Buy after upgrades from firms including Scotiabank, Loop Capital, BMO and UBS.
• Meta reported an earnings beat — EPS $7.25 vs. $6.74 expected and revenue $51.24B vs. $49.34B — with a 30.9% net margin and revenue up 26.2% year‑over‑year.

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) dropped 1.2% during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $595.40 and last traded at $602.01. Approximately 16,392,001 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 7% from the average daily volume of 15,325,323 shares. The stock had previously closed at $609.46.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

META has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $685.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Loop Capital reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $980.00 price objective (up previously from $888.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $710.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. UBS Group lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $915.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Roth Capital reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $827.60.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.98 and a quick ratio of 1.98. The firm has a market cap of $1.52 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.20. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $713.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $706.28.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The social networking company reported $7.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.74 by $0.51. The firm had revenue of $51.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $49.34 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 30.89% and a return on equity of 39.35%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 26.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $6.03 EPS. Meta Platforms has set its Q4 2025 guidance at EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 22nd were paid a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 22nd. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is currently 9.28%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, November 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $631.00, for a total transaction of $326,227.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 6,924 shares in the company, valued at $4,369,044. The trade was a 6.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 516 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, November 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $631.00, for a total transaction of $325,596.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 26,721 shares in the company, valued at $16,860,951. This trade represents a 1.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 13,359 shares of company stock worth $9,689,566 in the last quarter. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Westchester Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Bare Financial Services Inc acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter worth $33,000. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 237.5% during the 2nd quarter. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC now owns 54 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Briaud Financial Planning Inc acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter worth $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company's stock.

About Meta Platforms

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.