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

Phoenix Financial Ltd. lowered its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 2.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 114,218 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 2,875 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for about 1.1% of Phoenix Financial Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Phoenix Financial Ltd.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $81,049,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 11,690 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $593.31, for a total transaction of $6,935,793.90. Following the sale, the chief technology officer owned 2,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,432,843.65. This trade represents a 82.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 600 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $609.35, for a total transaction of $365,610.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 7,347 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,476,894.45. This trade represents a 7.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 39,594 shares of company stock valued at $24,325,407 in the last three months. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 0.2%

NASDAQ META opened at $670.21 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $479.80 and a 1 year high of $796.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.60 and a quick ratio of 2.60. The company has a market capitalization of $1.69 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a fifty day moving average of $656.48 and a 200 day moving average of $695.54.

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

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th were given a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 15th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.94%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on META. Roth Mkm dropped their target price on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 26th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $710.00 to $730.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Wall Street Zen lowered Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 1st. Pivotal Research decreased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $930.00 to $910.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-one have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $848.50.

Meta Platforms News Roundup

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

About Meta Platforms

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.