Meta Platforms, Inc. $META is Yelin Lapidot Holdings Management Ltd.’s 6th Largest Position

Yelin Lapidot Holdings Management Ltd. increased its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 25.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 39,487 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 7,887 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises 4.2% of Yelin Lapidot Holdings Management Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Yelin Lapidot Holdings Management Ltd.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $22,243,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of META. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 17.4% in the 1st quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC now owns 18,000 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $10,299,000 after buying an additional 2,670 shares during the period. Keybank National Association OH grew its position in Meta Platforms by 15.7% during the fourth quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 133,798 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $88,319,000 after acquiring an additional 18,169 shares during the period. WMS Group LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at about $876,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 199,995,630 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $132,015,115,000 after acquiring an additional 7,269,279 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 4.9% during the second quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 625,079 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $352,101,000 after acquiring an additional 29,411 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on META shares. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Meta Platforms from $770.00 to $763.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. Rosenblatt Securities increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $883.00 to $886.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $766.00 to $715.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Monness Crespi & Hardt reduced their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $890.00 to $730.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, KeyCorp decreased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $790.00 to $780.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $785.22.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In related news, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 1,559 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $558.00, for a total value of $869,922.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 1,957 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,092,006. The trade was a 44.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 9,196 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $550.61, for a total transaction of $5,063,409.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,186 shares in the company, valued at $7,260,343.46. This represents a 41.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders have sold 32,987 shares of company stock valued at $19,202,995. Corporate insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts see Meta’s AI investments improving ad targeting and engagement, potentially allowing the company to challenge Google for digital-advertising leadership. The strong advertising outlook is particularly important after Meta’s latest quarter delivered 28% year-over-year revenue growth to $60.8 billion. Meta versus Google advertising analysis
• Positive Sentiment: Several reports characterize META as undervalued, citing a forward P/E of roughly 16—well below its historical average—and arguing that legal clarity plus new AI products could support substantial upside. The settlement may remove a major overhang even though it carries a large financial charge. Meta valuation and AI upside analysis
• Positive Sentiment: Wedbush reaffirmed a Neutral rating but raised or maintained a $595 price target, implying modest upside from the referenced trading level. Separately, the planned IPO of Meta-backed Indian telecom operator Jio Platforms could improve the value and liquidity of an important investment. Meta market news Jio Platforms IPO approval
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta is switching internal communications from Google Chat to Slack because management considers Slack better suited to AI agents. The move highlights Meta’s push to integrate AI into operations but is not expected to materially change near-term financial results. Meta switches to Slack
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta-backed AI startup Manus said it has resumed independent operations after China blocked Meta’s proposed acquisition. This removes some uncertainty around the transaction but also means Meta will not immediately gain full ownership of the startup. Manus resumes independent operations
• Negative Sentiment: The approximately $17 billion–$18 billion settlement over alleged harm to children creates a substantial cash cost and requires stronger age verification, potentially increasing compliance expenses and reducing young-user engagement. Critics also question whether the agreement will resolve regulatory pressure. Meta child-safety settlement requirements
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Meta spent heavily on AI infrastructure underscore depreciation and capital-expenditure risks: investors must determine whether the spending will generate enough incremental advertising and product revenue. Meta also removed dozens of India-based malware advertisements, highlighting continuing platform-safety and reputational risks. Big Tech AI spending risks Meta removes fraudulent India ads

Meta Platforms Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of META opened at $578.54 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.47 trillion, a P/E ratio of 21.79, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.25. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $520.26 and a one year high of $790.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 2.23. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $592.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $609.82.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.19 by ($1.01). Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 33.18% and a net margin of 29.83%.The business had revenue of $60.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $60.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $7.14 earnings per share. Meta Platforms’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.