Arvest Bank Trust Division Sells 1,007 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Arvest Bank Trust Division reduced its Meta Platforms stake by 3.3%, selling 1,007 shares and retaining 29,877 shares valued at approximately $17.1 million. Institutional investors collectively own 79.91% of Meta’s stock.
• Meta reported strong quarterly results, with earnings of $10.44 per share and revenue of $56.31 billion; revenue increased 33.1% year over year. The company also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.525 per share.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $835.64, although several firms recently lowered their targets. Insiders sold 36,393 shares worth about $22.1 million over the past 90 days.

Arvest Bank Trust Division trimmed its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 3.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 29,877 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 1,007 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises approximately 0.9% of Arvest Bank Trust Division's investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Arvest Bank Trust Division's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $17,094,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Keybank National Association OH grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 15.7% during the 4th 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 purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth about $876,000. Consolidated Investment Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 61.2% in the fourth quarter. Consolidated Investment Group LLC now owns 7,900 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $5,215,000 after acquiring an additional 3,000 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 199,995,630 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $132,015,115,000 after acquiring an additional 7,269,279 shares during the period. Finally, Third View Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,789,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 3,348 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Monday, July 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.97, for a total value of $2,012,047.56. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 9,498 shares in the company, valued at $5,708,013.06. This trade represents a 26.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.75, for a total transaction of $303,875.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 3,443 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,092,483.25. This represents a 12.68% 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 ninety days, insiders sold 36,393 shares of company stock worth $22,141,163. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $595.19 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $1.51 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 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 1-year low of $520.26 and a 1-year high of $796.25. The stock's 50-day moving average is $604.51 and its 200 day moving average is $625.53.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $6.67 by $3.77. The company had revenue of $56.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.56 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 36.93% and a net margin of 32.84%.Meta Platforms's quarterly revenue was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $6.43 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th were issued a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is presently 7.63%.

Meta Platforms News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: A new free verification badge system for Facebook users, which may improve trust and platform quality. Fast Company article
• Positive Sentiment: A dedicated Marketplace seller app with tools for merchants, aimed at making Facebook commerce more useful and organized. Reuters article
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street commentary remained constructive, with articles highlighting Meta as a strong momentum stock and a potentially attractive AI-era value name.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment stayed favorable, including a report that Wells Fargo raised its price target on Meta to $835.00.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Meta Platforms from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. BNP Paribas Exane began coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued an "outperform" rating for the company. Guggenheim reduced their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $840.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Arete Research set a $735.00 price objective on Meta Platforms and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have given a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $835.64.

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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