Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Purchased by Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd.

Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 83.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 170,422 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 77,664 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 1.1% of Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $125,130,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Goldstone Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 44.4% in the 3rd quarter. Goldstone Financial Group LLC now owns 3,752 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,756,000 after buying an additional 1,153 shares during the period. Spirepoint Private Client LLC lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 2.7% in the second quarter. Spirepoint Private Client LLC now owns 4,080 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $3,011,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 10.4% in the second quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 55,431 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $43,790,000 after acquiring an additional 5,224 shares during the last quarter. CW Advisors LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms by 27.8% in the second quarter. CW Advisors LLC now owns 176,762 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $130,467,000 after acquiring an additional 38,432 shares during the period. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 11.0% during the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 210,526 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $155,387,000 after acquiring an additional 20,912 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 2.1%

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $672.36 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $1.69 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.70, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.29. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $643.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $696.35. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $479.80 and a 12-month high of $796.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $51.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $49.34 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 39.35% and a net margin of 30.89%.Meta Platforms’s revenue was up 26.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $6.03 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th were issued a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 2,610 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Saturday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $609.46, for a total transaction of $1,590,690.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 9,784 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,962,956.64. The trade was a 21.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 11,690 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $593.31, for a total value of $6,935,793.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer owned 2,415 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,432,843.65. This represents a 82.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 39,596 shares of company stock valued at $24,277,237 over the last ninety days. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

META has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Roth Mkm decreased their price target on Meta Platforms from $845.00 to $800.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Monness Crespi & Hardt decreased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $860.00 to $808.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Finally, Citizens Jmp restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $900.00 price objective (up from $750.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, November 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $822.00.

Key Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta will test paid premium subscriptions across Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp that unlock advanced AI and exclusive features — a potential new recurring-revenue stream and direct monetization of AI capabilities. Meta to test premium subscriptions
• Positive Sentiment: Rothschild & Co (Redburn) upgraded META to a “buy” and raised its price target to $900, a bullish analyst endorsement that supports upside sentiment. Analyst upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and commentators continue to highlight Meta’s large cash generation and shareholder returns (centuries of buybacks/dividends-equivalent commentary), underscoring capital return potential as a support for the stock. Shareholder returns article
• Neutral Sentiment: Multiple firms trimmed price targets (Roth MKM, Raymond James, KeyCorp, Stifel) while many left buy/strong‑buy ratings intact — trimming near‑term upside expectations but not ending bullish views. Price target moves
• Neutral Sentiment: Q4 earnings and, importantly, 2026 expense/capex guidance are focal points this week — investors are positioning for details on AI infrastructure and Reality Labs spending that will drive near‑term volatility. Expense guidance focus
• Negative Sentiment: Meta temporarily blocked teens from interacting with some AI characters — a user‑experience/regulatory response that could limit engagement or product rollouts while safety policies are refined. Meta blocks teens from AI characters
• Negative Sentiment: Meta faces a high-profile trial this week over youth addiction claims alongside TikTok and YouTube, increasing legal and reputational risk that investors factor into valuation. Youth addiction trial
• Negative Sentiment: Countries are advancing restrictions on children’s social‑media use (e.g., Egypt exploring new limits), adding regulatory headwinds and potential regional usage impacts. Egypt social media restrictions
• Negative Sentiment: Ongoing investor concern over hefty AI infra and Reality Labs capex — even as management trims headcount — keeps valuation sensitive to guidance and near‑term margin pressure. Capex fears / pre-earnings

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.