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

Key Points

• Harel Insurance Investments increased its Meta Platforms stake by 6.8% in the fourth quarter, adding 11,548 shares and bringing its total holding to 181,970 shares worth about $120.1 million.
• Meta reported a strong latest quarter, with EPS of $10.44 beating estimates by a wide margin and revenue of $56.31 billion topping expectations, as quarterly revenue grew 33.1% year over year.
• Despite positive earnings and continued institutional support, Meta faces rising AI capital spending, ongoing regulatory/legal pressure, and some insider selling, even as Wall Street still rates the stock a Moderate Buy.

Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 6.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 181,970 shares of the social networking company's stock after buying an additional 11,548 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises 1.0% of Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $120,112,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 454 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $334,000 after buying an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. First National Bank Sioux Falls lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. First National Bank Sioux Falls now owns 2,001 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,321,000 after buying an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. now owns 984 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $649,000 after buying an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. now owns 1,075 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $794,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Macroview Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC now owns 465 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $341,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meta Platforms News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square continues to hold Meta alongside other megacap AI leaders, reinforcing the view that META remains a core long-term AI and digital ads name. Microsoft, Meta, Amazon and Google. Is Ackman's Hedge Fund Just a Mag 7 Play?
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market commentary continue to point out that Meta’s latest earnings beat was strong, with faster revenue growth and better-than-expected EPS, which supports the bull case despite recent volatility. Meta Platforms Stock Performance
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta is getting attention as one of the most-watched stocks on Zacks, suggesting investors are closely focused on what comes next for AI spending, ad growth, and margins. Meta Platforms, Inc. (META) is Attracting Investor Attention: Here is What You Should Know
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta is still a key part of the AI trade, but commentary about an AI bubble and crowded megacap positioning is keeping sentiment cautious around the stock. UBS warns AI stocks are overheating as growth expectations collide with history
• Negative Sentiment: Meta’s CFO said 2026 capital expenditures are expected to keep rising, intensifying concerns that heavy AI infrastructure spending could weigh on free cash flow and near-term profitability. Money Pit? Zuckerberg Just Exposed Why Hyperscaler AI Spending Keeps Going Up
• Negative Sentiment: Meta is facing fresh legal and regulatory pressure, including a New Mexico youth-safety trial, an Italian lawsuit over minors’ social media use, and a California suit tied to AI scam ads and advertising practices. Meta and Google fund US kids' groups, as critics warn of social media risk
• Negative Sentiment: Some fund managers trimmed META holdings, which may add to near-term caution even though other investors increased exposure. ARK Investment’s Cathie Wood Cuts Meta Platforms Stake Sharply

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Meta Platforms stock opened at $614.23 on Friday. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $622.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $640.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.35. The stock has a market cap of $1.55 trillion, a P/E ratio of 22.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.25. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $520.26 and a fifty-two week high of $796.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.67 by $3.77. The firm had revenue of $56.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $55.56 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.84% and a return on equity of 36.93%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $6.43 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Arete Research reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Tigress Financial increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $935.00 to $945.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $810.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $805.00 to $780.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $840.31.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 926 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $604.57, for a total transaction of $559,831.82. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 6,853 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,143,118.21. This trade represents a 11.90% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 580 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $667.00, for a total transaction of $386,860.00. Following the sale, the director owned 3,847 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,565,949. This trade represents a 13.10% decrease in their position. 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 90 days, insiders have sold 169,231 shares of company stock worth $108,239,954. Corporate insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.