Bank Hapoalim BM Acquires 1,374 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Bank Hapoalim BM increased its Meta Platforms stake by 72.1% in the second quarter, purchasing 1,374 additional shares and bringing its holdings to 3,280 shares worth approximately $1.85 million.
• Meta reported quarterly revenue of $60.8 billion, up 28% year over year and above estimates, but earnings per share of $6.18 fell short of the $7.19 consensus forecast.
• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $785.22, compared with the stock’s reported opening price of $616.77; meanwhile, insiders sold nearly $19.2 million of shares over the past three months.

Bank Hapoalim BM grew its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 72.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,280 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,374 shares during the quarter. Bank Hapoalim BM's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $1,848,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 17.4% during 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 lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 15.7% in 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 buying an additional 18,169 shares in the last quarter. WMS Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth $876,000. Czech National Bank raised its holdings in shares of 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 period. Finally, Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 118,460 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $78,195,000 after acquiring an additional 2,871 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of META opened at $616.77 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $596.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $609.26. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $520.26 and a 1-year high of $790.80. The company has a market cap of $1.57 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.23, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.25.

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

More Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta opened paid developer access to Muse Spark 1.3, with company executives and analysts claiming the model is approaching or matching offerings from Anthropic and OpenAI. Improved performance and token efficiency could support adoption in coding agents, model APIs, subscriptions and future generative-search advertising. Meta Platforms: Muse Spark 1.3 Was The Warning Shot
• Positive Sentiment: Recent coverage identifies Muse Spark 1.3 as a new catalyst that could improve confidence in Meta’s AI roadmap and help the company recover toward its prior highs, provided the technology translates into revenue and returns on investment. Meta Rises 4% as Muse Spark 1.3 Claims Parity with Anthropic and OpenAI
• Positive Sentiment: Some investment commentary views Meta as a major beneficiary of the ongoing AI infrastructure and computing cycle, alongside other hyperscalers, potentially creating a long-term growth opportunity. Hyperscalers Are the Backbone of AI

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 1,559 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $558.00, for a total value of $869,922.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 1,957 shares in the company, valued at $1,092,006. This represents a 44.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $561.56, for a total value of $280,780.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 2,943 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,652,671.08. The trade was a 14.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 32,987 shares of company stock worth $19,202,995 in the last three months. Insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Phillip Securities upgraded Meta Platforms to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $810.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, June 1st. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $883.00 to $886.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $785.22.

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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