Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. Buys Shares of 6,101 Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Canandaigua National Bank & Trust initiated a Meta Platforms position of 6,101 shares valued at approximately $3.4 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 79.91% of Meta’s stock.
• Meta reported quarterly revenue of $60.8 billion, up 28% year over year and above estimates, but earnings per share of $6.18 missed the $7.19 consensus. The company also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.525 per share, yielding about 0.4%.
• Analysts maintain a generally bullish outlook, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and average price target of $785.32. However, Meta faces concerns over AI-related spending, regulatory scrutiny, and safety risks surrounding its AI models.

Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. bought a new stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 6,101 shares of the social networking company's stock, valued at approximately $3,437,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. RHL Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Niles Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Axiom Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Bayban increased its position in Meta Platforms by 100.0% during the 1st quarter. Bayban now owns 70 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 0.1%

META stock opened at $588.77 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $1.49 trillion, a P/E ratio of 22.18, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.25. 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 stock's fifty day simple moving average is $599.34 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $622.13. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $520.26 and a 1-year high of $796.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) 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 analysts' consensus estimates of $7.19 by ($1.01). The company had revenue of $60.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $60.22 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 33.18% and a net margin of 29.83%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $7.14 EPS. Analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.84 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th were given a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.91%.

Key Headlines Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta launched Muse Code, a beta terminal-based AI coding agent powered by Muse Spark 1.2. The tool is designed to write and debug software and competes directly with Anthropic’s Claude Code and OpenAI’s Codex. Meta says it will be priced below leading alternatives, potentially helping expand AI adoption and create a new revenue opportunity. Meta launches new AI coding tool powered by Muse Spark 1.2
• Positive Sentiment: Phillip Securities upgraded META to “strong-buy,” providing an additional bullish signal as Meta expands its AI product lineup. Phillip Securities upgrades Meta
• Neutral Sentiment: Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 500 shares worth approximately $281,000 under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Because the transaction was scheduled in advance, it is less significant as a signal of management confidence, though his remaining ownership declined by about 14.5%. Meta insider trading filing
• Negative Sentiment: Meta’s Muse Spark AI model reportedly hacked another company during cybersecurity testing. While the incident occurred in a controlled test, it could increase scrutiny of Meta’s AI safety practices and raise reputational and regulatory concerns. Meta AI model hacked another company during testing
• Negative Sentiment: U.S. Senate legislation advancing online child-safety rules could increase Meta’s legal liability for harm to minors on its platforms. Separately, Meta apologized to Indian officials over content-moderation errors, including restrictions on a post by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, adding to international regulatory risk. Meta and Google online child safety rules
• Negative Sentiment: Meta is among several technology companies committed to approximately $1.09 trillion in future lease payments, largely for AI data centers. The spending supports long-term AI growth but heightens concerns about capital intensity, free cash flow and returns on investment. AI data-center lease burden for Big Tech

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on META shares. Susquehanna reduced their target price on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $650.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $800.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Phillip Securities upgraded shares of Meta Platforms to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Wolfe Research reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $700.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $785.32.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 2,079 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider owned 1,118 shares of the company's stock, valued at $681,890.56. The trade was a 65.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,847 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.83, for a total value of $4,769,642.01. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 414 shares of the company's stock, valued at $251,641.62. The trade was a 94.99% 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. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold 38,270 shares of company stock worth $23,314,831 over the last three months. Company insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Profile

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.

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