Meta Platforms’ (META) Market Outperform Rating Reiterated at Citizens Jmp

Posted by Brenda Bartman on Oct 25th, 2026

Citizens Jmp reiterated their market outperform rating on shares of Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META – Free Report) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $885.00 price target on the social networking company’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $885.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $886.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, October 20th. Phillip Securities raised Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $795.00 to $750.00 in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $920.00 to $940.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $580.00 to $685.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $833.12.

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Meta Platforms Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $642.62 on Thursday. Meta Platforms has a 52-week low of $520.26 and a 52-week high of $779.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 1.90. The stock has a market cap of $1.64 trillion, a P/E ratio of 21.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.19. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $664.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $629.72.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The social networking company reported $7.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.54 by $0.86. The company had revenue of $64.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.34 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 31.15% and a return on equity of 30.73%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $7.25 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Meta Platforms will post 28.86 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 28th. Investors of record on Monday, September 21st were issued a dividend of $0.5250 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 21st. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.91%.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 946 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $707.20, for a total value of $669,011.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 5,986 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,233,299.20. This represents a 13.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 40,000 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $712.76, for a total value of $28,510,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 184,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $131,515,624.16. The trade was a 17.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 149,906 shares of company stock valued at $102,347,409. 13.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.2% in the third quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA now owns 277,550 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $201,274,000 after purchasing an additional 3,311 shares during the period. Holos Integrated Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter. Holos Integrated Wealth LLC now owns 515 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $363,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 256.6% during the 3rd quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 271 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $197,000 after buying an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. Hedeker Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 7.8% during the 3rd quarter. Hedeker Wealth LLC now owns 21,500 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $15,591,000 after buying an additional 1,557 shares during the period. Finally, Nadler Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Nadler Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,688 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $3,400,000 after buying an additional 213 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Headlines Impacting Meta Platforms

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

Positive Sentiment: Strong Q3 operating performance: Meta reported $64.6 billion in revenue, up 26% year over year, and adjusted earnings of $7.40 per share versus expectations of roughly $6.54. AI-driven recommendations and advertising tools are improving engagement, ad pricing and conversions. META Q3 Earnings Beat Estimates
Positive Sentiment: Muse adoption supports the AI thesis: Meta’s Muse AI agent has surpassed 10 million downloads, strengthening the case that the company could eventually monetize AI through subscriptions, enterprise services and additional advertising. However, meaningful revenue contribution is expected later, potentially from 2027 onward. Meta Muse Adoption
Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain broadly constructive: UBS, Citigroup, Mizuho, JPMorgan, Bank of America and other firms raised or reaffirmed bullish ratings and price targets, citing resilient advertising growth and long-term AI potential. Some investors, including commentator Mike Khouw, view the selloff as a buying opportunity. Why Mike Khouw Is Buying Meta
Neutral Sentiment: New Class C shares and a 2-for-1 split: Meta plans to issue one non-voting Class C share for each Class A and Class B share. The move should improve trading liquidity and give Mark Zuckerberg greater flexibility to sell shares or finance AI investment without surrendering voting control, but it does not by itself create economic value for shareholders. Meta’s New Non-Voting Shares
Neutral Sentiment: Commercial terms delayed: Meta postponed controversial terms that publishers and advertisers said could authorize broader web scraping, moving implementation to November 20 from October 30. The delay may reduce near-term friction, though the underlying regulatory and customer concerns remain. Meta Delays Commercial Terms
Negative Sentiment: AI spending is the main pressure: Meta lifted the lower end of its 2026 capital-expenditure forecast to $135 billion, with spending potentially reaching $145 billion. Free cash flow turned negative as infrastructure investment accelerated, while credit-default-swap costs reached records. Investors are questioning when Muse and other AI projects will generate returns. Meta AI Spending and Free Cash Flow
Negative Sentiment: Legal and regulatory risks remain significant: Meta faces a $25 billion New Mexico privacy judgment, additional lawsuits alleging harm to children and scam advertising, and rising legal costs. The company plans to appeal the New Mexico ruling, but the liabilities add uncertainty and pressure margins. Meta New Mexico Privacy Judgment

About Meta Platforms

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Meta Platforms, Inc is a technology company that develops social networking, messaging, virtual and augmented reality, and artificial intelligence products. The company’s principal platforms include Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp, and Threads, which enable users to connect, communicate, share content, and discover products and services.

Meta also operates Reality Labs, its division focused on virtual, augmented, and mixed reality technologies. Reality Labs develops products such as Meta Quest virtual reality headsets and related software and experiences, along with research and hardware intended to support immersive computing.