Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Acquired by Community Trust & Investment Co.

Key Points

• Community Trust & Investment Co. increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 11.2% during Q2, now owning 63,808 shares worth approximately $47.10 million, making it the ninth largest holding in their portfolio.
• Insiders at Meta Platforms have sold a significant amount of shares recently, with Christopher K. Cox selling 60,000 shares valued at approximately $46.56 million, representing a 20.19% decrease in his position.
• Meta Platforms reported a Q2 revenue of $47.52 billion, surpassing expectations and showing a 21.6% year-over-year increase, while the company has set guidance for earnings per share for FY 2025.

Community Trust & Investment Co. raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 11.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 63,808 shares of the social networking company's stock after acquiring an additional 6,432 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up approximately 2.7% of Community Trust & Investment Co.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. Community Trust & Investment Co.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $47,096,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 34,551 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $20,230,000 after acquiring an additional 570 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,456 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $5,537,000 after purchasing an additional 875 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 221,459 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $129,666,000 after acquiring an additional 7,587 shares during the period. Alpine Global Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth about $207,000. Finally, Pinney & Scofield Inc. purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth about $227,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. HSBC upgraded Meta Platforms from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $610.00 to $900.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Meta Platforms from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Benchmark boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $890.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Citizens Jmp boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $635.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $826.05.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:META traded down $1.87 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $778.38. The stock had a trading volume of 22,494,703 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,828,774. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $747.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $666.27. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $479.80 and a 12 month high of $796.25. The company has a market cap of $1.96 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.18, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.24. 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 data on Wednesday, July 30th. The social networking company reported $7.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 period in the prior year, the company posted $5.16 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. Meta Platforms has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $767.16, for a total transaction of $398,156.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 30,870 shares in the company, valued at $23,682,229.20. This represents a 1.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 465 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $757.47, for a total transaction of $352,223.55. Following the transaction, the director owned 8,412 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,371,837.64. The trade was a 5.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 257,922 shares of company stock worth $196,412,792. 13.61% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.