Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. boosted its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META – Free Report) by 268.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 669,977 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 488,007 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up about 2.6% of Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $383,310,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Avanda Investment Management Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter worth $1,304,000. MASTERINVEST Kapitalanlage GmbH boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 22.0% in the first quarter. MASTERINVEST Kapitalanlage GmbH now owns 39,372 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $22,526,000 after acquiring an additional 7,088 shares in the last quarter. NFSG Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 5.3% in the first quarter. NFSG Corp now owns 24,910 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $14,252,000 after acquiring an additional 1,257 shares in the last quarter. Northstar Financial Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 20.7% during the first quarter. Northstar Financial Companies Inc. now owns 1,295 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $741,000 after acquiring an additional 222 shares during the period. Finally, Ethos Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.6% during the first quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC now owns 7,601 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $4,624,000 after acquiring an additional 331 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Meta Platforms Price Performance
META stock opened at $645.85 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $604.11 and a 200-day moving average of $626.63. The company has a market cap of $1.63 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.48, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a current ratio of 2.35, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $520.26 and a 12-month high of $796.25.
Meta Platforms Announces Dividend
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th were issued a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is 7.63%.
More Meta Platforms News
Here are the key news stories impacting Meta Platforms this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Bank of America expects Meta to beat second-quarter estimates, citing healthy ad demand and AI-related improvements, with Q2 revenue now seen at $60.6 billion and EPS at $7.50 versus consensus of $60.2 billion and $7.18. Meta Platforms expected to top earnings estimates as ad growth remains healthy, says BofA
- Positive Sentiment: Investors are also encouraged by reports that Meta could monetize its AI buildout more directly, including a potential large-scale computing deal with Anthropic, which could help justify its heavy capex and reduce valuation pressure. Zuckerberg Is Quietly Turning Meta Into A Compute Provider Ahead Of Q2 Earnings
- Positive Sentiment: BlackRock’s $12 billion financing for new Meta data centers in Texas underscores strong outside confidence in Meta’s AI infrastructure strategy and signals continued investment in future capacity. BlackRock Leads $12 Billion Financing for New Meta Data Centers in Texas
- Neutral Sentiment: Commentary around Meta’s expanding AI ambitions and “compute provider” strategy reinforces the bullish AI narrative, but the market is still waiting for proof that the spending will translate into durable returns. Meta’s AI Ambitions Keep Expanding. Is META Stock Keeping Up?
- Neutral Sentiment: Meta faces a Tennessee trial over claims Instagram was designed to be addictive, adding headline risk and potential legal overhang for the stock. Meta faces Tennessee trial over allegations Instagram was designed to be addictive
- Negative Sentiment: Reports of temporary Facebook and Instagram outages may add near-term frustration for users and advertisers, though the impact appears more operational than fundamental. Users of Meta’s Facebook, Instagram report suffering some outages
Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms
In related news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 9,195 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $607.84, for a total value of $5,589,088.80. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,186 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,014,978.24. This represents a 41.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 2,079 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $609.92, for a total transaction of $1,268,023.68. Following the transaction, the insider owned 1,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $681,890.56. This trade represents a 65.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders have sold 37,948 shares of company stock worth $23,184,319. Corporate insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of equities research analysts recently commented on META shares. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Raymond James Financial upgraded Meta Platforms from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Erste Group Bank raised Meta Platforms from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Bank of America decreased their price target on Meta Platforms from $885.00 to $820.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane assumed coverage on Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have issued a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $830.45.
View Our Latest Research Report on META
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.
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