Phoenix Financial Ltd. Sells 2,875 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Phoenix Financial Ltd. trimmed its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 114,218 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 2,875 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up approximately 1.1% of Phoenix Financial Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Phoenix Financial Ltd.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $81,049,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in META. Bare Financial Services Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the second quarter worth about $30,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $44,000. WFA Asset Management Corp raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 42.6% during the 2nd quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 67 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Spurstone Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $59,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results and forward guide strengthened the bull case: Meta beat on revenue and EPS and its guidance prompted upgrades and bullish analyst notes, supporting near‑term upside. Meta Platforms Posted Its Fastest Growth Guide in Years—Now What?
• Positive Sentiment: AI monetization and user metrics are improving: Seeking Alpha highlights AI-driven ad redistributions (Lattice/GEM), daily active users up ~7% to 3.58B, ad impressions +18% and Reels watch time +30% — signals that AI is already boosting engagement and ad revenue. Meta: Buy The AI Revolution
• Positive Sentiment: Institutional support: Several funds have added to Meta (e.g., Davis Selected Advisers, Alecta), and brokers have raised targets or reiterated buys—helps sustain buying momentum after the beat. Alecta Pensionsforsakring, Omsesidigt boosts Meta Platforms stake
• Neutral Sentiment: CapEx is rising as Meta scales AI infrastructure: Meta guided to much higher 2026 capex (investing in MTIA and data centers) — strategic for growth but capital‑intensive; impact on margins depends on monetization pace. Soaring Hyperscaler CapEx Signals Good Things Ahead for Broadcom
• Neutral Sentiment: ESG / renewable moves: Meta expanded a PPA for the Skull Creek solar plant — supports sustainability goals but has no immediate revenue impact. Zelestra Expands Relationship with Meta in the US (Skull Creek PPA)
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: COO Javier Olivan disclosed multiple small sales (recently 517 shares), which is minor in size but can feed short‑term profit‑taking narratives. SEC Filing – Javier Olivan sale
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory risk in key markets: India’s top court questioned WhatsApp’s data‑sharing with Meta entities — any reimposed restrictions or fines could hurt growth/engagement in a large market. India’s top court questions WhatsApp data sharing
• Negative Sentiment: Cost and margin worries: Elevated AI and data‑center spending has investors debating trade‑off between near‑term margin pressure and long‑term gains; some profit‑taking followed the recent rally. Meta: Still A ‘Buy,’ But Nearing The End Of Its Run As Expenses Mount

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $658.69, for a total value of $341,860.11. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 28,658 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,876,738.02. This represents a 1.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 580 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $618.28, for a total transaction of $358,602.40. Following the transaction, the director owned 5,587 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,454,330.36. The trade was a 9.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 39,594 shares of company stock valued at $24,325,407 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $754.00 to $849.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $900.00 target price (up from $870.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $840.00 to $880.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Raymond James Financial dropped their price target on Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $800.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $910.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-one have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $848.50.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of META opened at $670.21 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.69 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.52, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.60 and a quick ratio of 2.60. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $479.80 and a 1-year high of $796.25. The company has a 50-day moving average of $656.48 and a 200 day moving average of $695.54.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The social networking company reported $8.88 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.16 by $0.72. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 30.08% and a return on equity of 38.61%. The business had revenue of $59.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.33 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $8.02 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 23.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th were given a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 8.94%.

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.