Central Bank & Trust Co. Lowers Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Central Bank & Trust Co. reduced its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. by 1.7%, now holding 20,291 shares worth approximately $14.98 million.
• Meta Platforms recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.525 per share, set to be paid on September 29th, representing an annualized yield of 0.3%.
• CEO Mark Zuckerberg and CFO Susan J. Li both executed significant stock sales in August, with Zuckerberg selling 15,847 shares for nearly $12 million and Li selling 18,332 shares for around $14 million.

Central Bank & Trust Co. lowered its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 1.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,291 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 347 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 2.4% of Central Bank & Trust Co.'s portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Central Bank & Trust Co.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $14,977,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of META. Inlight Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the first quarter worth about $28,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. JCIC Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 102.6% in the first quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. now owns 79 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principia Wealth Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 53.6% during the first quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 86 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

META has been the topic of several recent research reports. Benchmark lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $890.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $775.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Loop Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $980.00 target price (up previously from $888.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $710.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Truist Financial set a $880.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $826.05.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meta Platforms news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 18,332 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $764.71, for a total value of $14,018,663.72. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 84,141 shares of the company's stock, valued at $64,343,464.11. This represents a 17.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 60,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $775.95, for a total transaction of $46,557,000.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 237,205 shares in the company, valued at $184,059,219.75. The trade was a 20.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 257,922 shares of company stock valued at $196,412,792. 13.61% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:META traded down $1.87 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $778.38. The company's stock had a trading volume of 22,494,703 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,174,566. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $747.06 and a 200-day moving average of $665.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.96 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.18, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.24. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $479.80 and a 12-month high of $796.25. The company has a quick ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The social networking company reported $7.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.75 by $1.39. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 39.99% and a return on equity of 39.33%. The firm had revenue of $47.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $44.55 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $5.16 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Meta Platforms has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 22nd will be issued a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 22nd. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.60%.

About Meta Platforms

Meta Platforms, Inc engages in the development of products that enable people to connect and share with friends and family through mobile devices, personal computers, virtual reality headsets, and wearables worldwide. It operates in two segments, Family of Apps and Reality Labs. The Family of Apps segment offers Facebook, which enables people to share, discuss, discover, and connect with interests; Instagram, a community for sharing photos, videos, and private messages, as well as feed, stories, reels, video, live, and shops; Messenger, a messaging application for people to connect with friends, family, communities, and businesses across platforms and devices through text, audio, and video calls; and WhatsApp, a messaging application that is used by people and businesses to communicate and transact privately.