Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. Increases Stock Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 83.7% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 170,422 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 77,664 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up approximately 1.1% of Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $125,130,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of META. Bare Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the second quarter worth about $30,000. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC grew its stake 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 buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Briaud Financial Planning Inc purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the second quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, WFA Asset Management Corp lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 42.6% in the second quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 67 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 6,875 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Saturday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $609.46, for a total transaction of $4,190,037.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 88,370 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,857,980.20. This trade represents a 7.22% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 2,610 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Saturday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $609.46, for a total value of $1,590,690.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 9,784 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,962,956.64. This represents a 21.06% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 39,596 shares of company stock worth $24,277,237. Insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

NASDAQ META opened at $672.36 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.69 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.70, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.29. The business’s 50 day moving average is $643.56 and its two-hundred day 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The social networking company reported $7.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.74 by $0.51. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 39.35% and a net margin of 30.89%.The firm had revenue of $51.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $49.34 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $6.03 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th were paid 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 dividend yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is 9.28%.

Trending Headlines about Meta Platforms

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on META shares. Guggenheim lowered their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $800.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. KeyCorp lowered their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $835.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Erste Group Bank cut shares of Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 10th. Roth Mkm decreased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $845.00 to $800.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Meta Platforms from $820.00 to $750.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $822.00.

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.